The Justice Department dropped a felony obstruction charge against five Proud Boys, who are facing a criminal trial in September over their actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Biden administration’s decision to drop the charge comes after the Supreme Court ruled that federal prosecutors can’t use an obstruction statute originally aimed at the destruction of evidence to nab Jan. 6 rioters who disrupted Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results.
In a filing this week in Arthur Jackson’s case, the Justice Department said it was dropping the charges against him, Edward George Jr., Kevin and Nate Tuck, and Paul Rae in the interest of a speedy trial.
“This decision was made in order to avoid disruption to the trial schedule for a five-defendant case, and the dismissal eliminates the need for additional litigation as to the sufficiency of the Section 1512 charge as applied to these defendants,” the filing read.
The men face at least four other charges aside from the dismissed charge under Section 1512. The case is pending at the District Court for the District of Columbia.
In June, the Supreme Court erased charges against a Jan. 6 protester who prosecutors had charged with obstructing the Electoral College count, saying the government was stretching too far a law written to criminalize people who hindered an investigation.
The ruling was in favor of Joseph Fischer but is now a victory for hundreds of protesters the Justice Department has charged under the same obstruction law.
The decision may even have implications for former President Donald Trump, who is facing his own federal obstruction charges related to attempts to submit alternate slates of electors in the 2020 election.
At issue is Title 18, Section 1512(c), which reads: “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.”
Federal prosecutors had argued the obstruction charge under a 2002 law passed in the wake of the Enron accounting scandal and designed to capture conduct when someone orders another person to disrupt an investigation, applied to the Jan. 6 protesters since their demonstration at the Capitol sent lawmakers hurrying for cover and disrupted the Electoral College count for hours.
The high court, though, batted that down, noting prosecutors interpreted the legislation too broadly.
The federal government said 259 Jan. 6 defendants had faced the obstruction charge under Section 1512 as of July 6.
Of those defendants, 133 had already been sentenced and 76 of them faced other felonies.
Forty of the Jan. 6 defendants who were convicted only of the obstruction felony were on probation or completed their sentences, while 17 of them are currently serving time.
“There are zero cases where a defendant was charged only with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so. Every defendant also faces other criminal charges — felonies, misdemeanors or both — for illegal conduct related to the Capitol Breach,” the Justice Department said.
“The government will be reviewing individual cases against the standards articulated in Fischer, as well as the anticipated ongoing proceedings related to Fischer in the D.C. Circuit, to determine whether the government will proceed with the charge.”
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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