The Justice Department (DOJ) has dropped nearly half of the remaining obstruction charges that are still pending against January 6 defendants, according to recent DOJ data. The Supreme Court in June made it more difficult to charge the defendants with obstruction, but charges can still be brought if prosecutors can prove that rioters were intentionally trying to stop the arrival of certificates used to certify electoral votes. The department said last week that it has already dropped the charge in approximately 60 of the 126 defendants whose cases were still pending. It is still going to charge 13 of the defendants with obstruction, and is still examining the other cases.
The Biden administration‘s Department of Justice has dropped nearly half of the obstruction charges pending against defendants involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot following a significant Supreme Court ruling in June, according to recent data. In June, the Supreme Court determined that the DOJ had applied an overly broad interpretation of a statute that imposes up to 20 years in prison for those who “corruptly obstruct, influence, or impede any official proceeding.” Since the ruling in Fischer v. United States, about 60 out of 126 defendants had their pending obstruction charges dismissed, according to DOJ data released last week, which significantly diminishes the threat of decades of jail time for the defendants.
