On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Fischer v. United States that a federal obstruction law does not apply to January 6 protesters. The case affects hundreds of individuals who participated in the mostly peaceful "breach" of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Those sentences will all need to be reviewed now. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion. Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan.
Plaintiffs argued that prosecutors misused a felony law, 18 U.S. Code § 1512, which involves tampering with a witness, victim, or informant against J6 suspects. The law was used against people arrested for destroying evidence in the Enron case back in 2001.
Or, as Ballotpedia puts it:
- The issue: The case concerns the legal scope of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) when prosecuting individuals for obstruction of justice related to the January 6th, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
- The questions presented: "Did the D.C. Circuit err in construing 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) (“Witness, Victim, or Informant Tampering"). Which prohibits obstruction of congressional inquiries and investigations. to include acts unrelated to investigations and evidence?"[1]
The case stems from J6 suspect Joseph Fischer, who was hit with seven charges, a mix of misdemeanors and felonies. Fischer portends the law, § 1512(c)(2), only covers evidence, not "conduct," and thus should be dropped.
The Pravda press immediately pushed the narrative that January 6 was an "insurrection," though no one has been convicted of trying to topple the U.S. government.
Many who entered were older people armed only with a Trump flag and an arrhythmia.
NEW: 71 Year old 'J6 Praying grandma' Rebecca Lavrenz has been Found Guilty of “Breaching the U.S. Capitol” by a DC jury after she briefly entered the Capitol on J6.
— Bruce Snyder (@realBruceSnyder) April 5, 2024
• After three days of deliberation, a jury convicted Rebecca Lavrenz, of Falcon, on four misdemeanor counts.… pic.twitter.com/5LlErJNksn
After Joe Biden took office, the Biden administration dropped roughly half of the federal charges against the street communist thugs in Antifa and BLM. Most of those who were convicted received milksoppy taps on the wrist.
The court holds that to prove a violation of the law, the government must show that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding, or attempted to do so.
The court reverses the D.C. Circuit, which had adopted a broader reading of the law to allow the charges against Fischer to go forward. The case now goes back to the D.C. Circuit -- which, the court says, can assess whether the indictment can still stand in light of this new and narrower interpretation.
Justice Jackson, who joined the majority opinion, also has a concurring opinion. She stresses that despite "the shocking circumstances involved in this case," the "Court's task is to determine what conduct is proscribed by the criminal statute that has been invoked as the basis for the obstruction charge at issue here."
The decision is great news for those who entered the Capitol, many through open doors and without violence.
The FBI admitted in August 2021, seven months after the "Stop the Steal" rally, that they'd found "scant evidence" of a coordinated attack on the Capitol. But that didn't keep the Democrats from presenting what many call a January 6 show trial, including a weeping Adam Kinzinger.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who is accused of lying in the J6 Committee proceedings, ran for Maryland's 3rd Congressional district this year and was beaten by his opponent, Sen. Sarah Elfreth, by a whopping 10.6 points.
The January 6 videotapes, which were slow-walked, prove the protest was mostly peaceful.
Even Jacob Chansley, the "Q Anon" witch doctor who became the poster boy for January 6, was seen on video walking peacefully through the Capitol with a police escort. He even paused to say a prayer of thanks to the Capitol Police for giving them a guided tour.
Chansley was released 14 months early, though some suggest it had nothing to do with the video's release.
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