jmdrake
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Just saw this on Jimmy Dore.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/su...bstruction-challenge-affect-trumps-rcna147841
https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/interpreting-obstruction-the-capitol-riot-donald-trump/
Also note that it's curious that none of the January 6th insurrectionists have been charged with insurrection
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-...-anniversary-bf436efe760751b1356f937e55bedaa5
More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes in the riot, ranging from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Roughly 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, while another roughly 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database.
Only two defendants have been acquitted of all charges, and those were trials decided by a judge rather than a jury.
About 750 people have been sentenced, with almost two-thirds receiving some time behind bars. Prison sentences have ranged from a few days of intermittent confinement to 22 years in prison. The longest sentence was handed down to Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as a plot to stop the transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Many rioters are already out of prison after completing their sentences, including some defendants who engaged in violence. Scott Fairlamb — a New Jersey man who punched a police officer during the riot and was the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced for assaulting law enforcement — was released from Bureau of Prisons’ custody in June.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/su...bstruction-challenge-affect-trumps-rcna147841
https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/interpreting-obstruction-the-capitol-riot-donald-trump/
In the legal fallout from the riot, hundreds of prosecutions, each featuring a range of offenses, pummeled the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (“D.D.C.”) docket. One commonly charged crime, perhaps the most obvious, was obstruction of an official proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2).7Open this footnote
7 About one-third of Capitol Riot defendants were charged with obstruction of an official proceeding. Jason Willick, This Jan. 6 Case Could Make U.S. Politics Even Worse, Wash. Post (Apr. 13, 2023, 6:03 PM EDT), https://perma.cc/2BJM-8CNP. Whereas some charges seemed too minor (surely the rioters did more than trespass) and others required proof of elements that many defendants may not have satisfied (such as assault and seditious conspiracy), obstruction hit the sweet spot.
…Open this footnote
In full, the statute provides:
(c) Whoever corruptly—
(1) 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
(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.8Open this footnote
8 18 U.S.C. § 1512. Judge Katsas lays out the statute’s key components as follows:
First are its actus rei verbs—the defendant must obstruct, influence, or impede. Second is the adverb otherwise, which qualifies the verbs by indicating some relationship between the covered obstruction and the acts prohibited by subsection (c)(1). Third is the direct object—the defendant must obstruct an official proceeding. Fourth is a mens rea requirement—in obstructing an official proceeding, the defendant must act corruptly.
United States v. Fischer, 64 F.4th 329, 364 (D.C. Cir. 2023) (Katsas, J., dissenting).
7 About one-third of Capitol Riot defendants were charged with obstruction of an official proceeding. Jason Willick, This Jan. 6 Case Could Make U.S. Politics Even Worse, Wash. Post (Apr. 13, 2023, 6:03 PM EDT), https://perma.cc/2BJM-8CNP. Whereas some charges seemed too minor (surely the rioters did more than trespass) and others required proof of elements that many defendants may not have satisfied (such as assault and seditious conspiracy), obstruction hit the sweet spot.
…Open this footnote
In full, the statute provides:
(c) Whoever corruptly—
(1) 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
(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.8Open this footnote
8 18 U.S.C. § 1512. Judge Katsas lays out the statute’s key components as follows:
First are its actus rei verbs—the defendant must obstruct, influence, or impede. Second is the adverb otherwise, which qualifies the verbs by indicating some relationship between the covered obstruction and the acts prohibited by subsection (c)(1). Third is the direct object—the defendant must obstruct an official proceeding. Fourth is a mens rea requirement—in obstructing an official proceeding, the defendant must act corruptly.
United States v. Fischer, 64 F.4th 329, 364 (D.C. Cir. 2023) (Katsas, J., dissenting).
Also note that it's curious that none of the January 6th insurrectionists have been charged with insurrection
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-...-anniversary-bf436efe760751b1356f937e55bedaa5
More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes in the riot, ranging from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Roughly 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, while another roughly 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database.
Only two defendants have been acquitted of all charges, and those were trials decided by a judge rather than a jury.
About 750 people have been sentenced, with almost two-thirds receiving some time behind bars. Prison sentences have ranged from a few days of intermittent confinement to 22 years in prison. The longest sentence was handed down to Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as a plot to stop the transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Many rioters are already out of prison after completing their sentences, including some defendants who engaged in violence. Scott Fairlamb — a New Jersey man who punched a police officer during the riot and was the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced for assaulting law enforcement — was released from Bureau of Prisons’ custody in June.
