The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a January 6 protester who entered the U.S. Capitol.
The protester, Joseph Fischer, and more than 350 others, were charged with obstructing an official proceeding.
“To prove a violation of Section 1512(c)(2), the Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or as we earlier explained, other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so,” the court wrote. “See supra, at 9. The judgment of the D. C. Circuit is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the D.C. Circuit may assess the sufficiency of Count Three of Fischer’s indictment in light of our interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2).”
U.S. Code Section 1512(c)(2) states, “Whoever corruptly alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding” or otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,” could face 20 years in prison.
The ruling is significant in that it limits the actions that can be prosecuted. According to the ruling, only specific types of obstruction are punishable, Simon Ateba reported.
In other words, the specific charge by the DOJ was an abuse of the law.
The opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts. Justices Barrett, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented.
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement in response to the ruling: “January 6 was an unprecedented attack on the cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. I am disappointed by today’s decision, which limits an important federal statute that the Department has sought to use to ensure that those most responsible for that attack face appropriate consequences.”
