The Supreme Court has given two men charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol a chance to argue that they cannot face an obstruction charge. Edward Lang and Garret Miller are seeking to dismiss a charge that they obstructed an official proceeding related to the certification of President Joe Biden’s election. The court recently ruled in favor of another defendant, Joseph Fischer, in a related case, leading to Lang and Miller’s cases being sent back to lower courts for further consideration.
Lang’s lawyers argue that he was swept up in the violence of the crowd and acted to defend himself and others from police violence. He is facing charges of assaulting a federal officer and has expressed unrepentance for his actions on January 6. Miller, on the other hand, is accused of assaulting an officer during the riot and making threats against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on social media.
The federal criminal code provision at issue, 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2), criminalizes efforts to obstruct an official proceeding, with a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years upon conviction. Defendants argue that this provision was not intended to apply to incidents like the Capitol riot. Former President Donald Trump, who is facing similar charges in his election interference case, may seek to use the Fischer ruling to potentially have the charge against him dismissed.
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