By EFE
Jun 28, 2024, 1:43 PM EDT
Washington – The United States Supreme Court decided this Friday that charging the January 6 Capitol attackers with obstruction of justice was inappropriate and that the Justice Department overstepped its bounds.
By 6 votes to 3, the country’s highest court determined that the prosecution went too far when accusing hundreds of people who rioted at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, of obstruction.
Ruling could impact case against Trump over assault
The decision means lower courts will now apply that standard and likely dismiss charges against many defendants.
This ruling could also have an impact on one of the legal proceedings against former Republican President Donald Trump – his involvement in the assault on the Capitol and his alleged attempt to interfere in the elections – since special prosecutor Jack Smith included obstruction of an official procedure among the four charges against him in this trial.
While Smith, who is conducting the investigation, alleges that Trump’s obstruction of congressional proceedings is much broader than that of the rioters, the former president’s legal team is likely to try to capitalize on the Supreme Court’s decision.
About 800 Trump supporters stormed the building
On January 6, some 10,000 people – most of them Trump supporters (2017-2021) – marched to the Capitol and about 800 stormed the building while Joe Biden’s victory was being certified. There were five dead and about 140 officers injured.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in virtually all 50 states for crimes related to the attack and more than 350 have been charged with assault or hindering law enforcement, according to data from the Department of Justice.
The Supreme Court ruled today that charges could be brought against the rioters if prosecutors can prove they were trying not only to force their way into the building but also to prevent the arrival of certificates confirming the election results.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the majority, which included one liberal Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett filed a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Merrick Garland says he is disappointed
The Supreme Court’s decision outraged the U.S. attorney general’s office, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said he was “disappointed” because it limits “an important federal statute that the Department has sought to use to ensure that those primarily responsible for that attack face appropriate consequences.”
Garland said the vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants would not be affected by the decision, as “there are no cases in which the Department (of Justice) charged a defendant on January 6 solely with the crime in question.”
Sources from Joe Biden’s presidential campaign said in a statement that “violent insurrectionists and those who encourage them must be held accountable,” even if “Trump thinks otherwise.”
On Thursday night, in the first presidential debate of the White House race, Trump “again defended January 6 and the insurrectionists who violently attacked law enforcement officers and attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.”
“Today’s ruling does not change the fundamental truth that Donald Trump will always put himself above our democracy,” the Democratic campaign text concluded.
Keep reading:
Trump advanced in the debate against Biden with lies; here six of them
The Capitol riot policeman who is now campaigning for Biden: “Trump betrayed us”
Trump supporter convicted of storming Capitol on January 6 with knife
US Supreme Court hearing begins on Trump’s immunity from prosecution for Capitol assault