Advertisement

US Supreme Court rules in favour of January 6 rioters, decision could affect Trump case

  • Dozens of convictions could be overturned after the court ruled that prosecutors overstepped by bringing obstruction charges against rioters

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Supporters of Donald Trump clash with Capitol police during the January 6, 2021 riot. Photo: TNS

Prosecutors overstepped in charging January 6 rioters with obstruction for trying to prevent certification of the 2020 US presidential election, the US Supreme Court said Friday in a case that could see dozens of convictions overturned.

Advertisement

The matter was brought to the court in the case of a former police officer Joseph Fischer, a supporter of former president Donald Trump who entered the Capitol in Washington with hundreds of others on January 6, 2021.

Writing the opinion for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said prosecutors’ interpretation of the law would “criminalise a broad swathe of prosaic conduct, exposing activists and lobbyist[s] to decades in prison”.

The government “must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding, or attempted to do so”, he wrote.

Protesters demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg

The case was decided 6-3, with Ketanji Brown Jackson joining with the court’s conservatives. Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Trump, penned the dissent, which was joined by liberal judges Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Advertisement

It now heads back to a lower court, which will decide whether Fischer’s indictment can still stand in light of the narrower interpretation of “obstruction”.

Advertisement