US Supreme Court raises bar for obstruction charges against January 6 defendants

The U.S. Supreme Court raised the legal bar for prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges against defendants involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, in a ruling Friday with possible implications for the federal criminal case against Donald Trump. for trying to reverse his 2020 electoral defeat.

The justices ruled 6-3 to overturn a lower court’s decision that had allowed a charge of corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding — Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump — against defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer.

The Supreme Court ordered the lower court to reconsider the matter.

Fischer had challenged the obstruction charge, which federal prosecutors brought against him and hundreds of others — including Trump — in cases related to Jan. 6. The ruling dealt a setback to the U.S. Justice Department and the Biden administration and a potential boost for Trump.

Trump, the Republican candidate who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the US election on November 5, was charged with obstruction as part of a four-count criminal indictment in a case brought last year by special counsel Jack Smith.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the ruling, joined by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote a dissenting opinion joined by liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Federal prosecutors estimate that about 250 of the roughly 1,400 people charged in the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters could be affected by the sentencing.

The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison if convicted, although those convicted on January 6 for obstruction have received much lighter sentences.

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