The Supreme Court on January 6 challenged the charge of rioting obstruction.
The closely watched case centers on allegations that former President Donald Trump also faces in his own election interference case, who is accused of obstruction on January 6, 2021 for joining the capital riots.
In a 6-3 vote on non-ideological lines, the justices gave the win to defendant Joseph Fisher, who on January. 6 is among hundreds of defendants — including former President Donald Trump — sued in an obstruction-of-government action for trying to block Congress. has been charged. Confirmation of President Joe Biden’s election success.
The court concluded that the law, enacted as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 after the Enron accounting scandal, was intended to apply only to more limited situations involving forms of evidence tampering, not those situations. on a much wider range of charges than had been claimed by the prosecution. It covered.
The clause targeted anyone who “obstructs, influences, or obstructs, or attempts to obstruct, any official proceeding,” but the court held that its scope is limited by a preceding sentence of the statute referring to the alteration or destruction of records.
Justice could still prosecute Fisher under the new interpretation of the law.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that he was disappointed by the decision because of the impact it would have on the Justice Department’s January. 6 cases, though he stressed that it would not affect most cases.
He added that the order limits an important federal law that the department has tried to use to ensure that those most responsible for the attack face appropriate consequences.
But the decision was celebrated by Trump, who said the Supreme Court “did the right thing” in Fisher’s case.
Trump told supporters on Friday, At a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, “They’ve been waiting for this decision for a very long time, and it was a great response. It was great for the people who has been treated so horribly.”
Fisher previously served as a police officer in North Cornwall Township, Pennsylvania. Another man named (Joseph Fisher), also a police officer, was recently sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role on Jan 6.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the government’s view of the statute’s reach “defies the most plausible understanding” of the statute in question, 18 USC. 1512. This provision carries a jail term of up to 20 years.
He added that the Justice Department’s interpretation would “criminalize a lot of unethical behavior, exposing activists and lobbyists alike to decades in prison.”
To prove a violation, prosecutors must now show that the defendant “impaired the availability or integrity of records, documents, objects, or …. other things used in the proceeding for use in official proceedings.” ,” Roberts wrote.
