A federal judge has ruled against efforts by the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice Department to preserve felony obstruction charges against participants of the January 6, 2021, Capitol protests.
The ruling is a decisive blow to federal prosecutors, Politico reported.
Judge Beryl Howell’s decision follows a Supreme Court ruling limiting the scope of obstruction laws previously applied to the defendants.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump gathered at the Capitol to voice their objections to the presidential power transfer to Joe Biden.
Since then, the Democrats have insisted that this day marked one of the most severe assaults on democracy in recent U.S. history.
In a 6-3 ruling in June, the Supreme Court determined that the use of the obstruction statute against these protesters was overly broad.
Originally, over 300 defendants faced these charges before the high court’s decision.
As legal scholar Jonathan Turley noted at the time, the ruling “downgraded” the obstruction charge to merely “trespassing.”
Following the Supreme Court’s reinterpretation, the Justice Department retracted many of the obstruction charges, reassessing the remaining cases.
The DOJ that charges could apply if it could be proven that the defendants intended to specifically disrupt the handling of Electoral College ballots by Congress.
In her ruling issued on a recent Friday, Judge Howell found no evidence to suggest the defendants intended to physically damage the electoral ballots.
The judge noted that protesters were clearly voicing their objections to the certification process.
During the protests, congressional staff swiftly secured the ballots.
By doing so, they ensured that the ballots couldn’t be harmed.
They were available for the continuation of the certification process once the order was restored.
Judge Howell’s decision, although not binding on other courts, carries significant weight due to her former role as chief judge and her respected position in the judiciary.
This ruling could influence other cases involving similar charges against protesters.
She pointed out that the primary goal of the defendants was to protest the certification, not to damage the documents required for the process.
“To the contrary, the record amply shows defendants’ intent to stop Members of Congress from proceeding with the certification,” Howell stated.
Howell further clarified, “But Members are not evidence,” underscoring the misapplication of the law as argued by the government.
The judge elaborated that the integrity of the electoral ballots was not compromised by the events, a point not contested by the prosecution.
“No evidence suggests that the electoral ballots’ ‘integrity,’… was affected by the events on January 6, 2021, and the government does not argue otherwise,” Howell explained.
https://slaynews.com/news/federal-judge-challenges-dojs-push-uphold-jan-6-obstruction-charges/
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