Supreme Court Limits Obstruction Charges for Jan. 6 Riot Participants, Citing Overreach by DOJ

The Supreme Court delivered good news Friday for some of the supporters of Donald Trump who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The ruling raises the bar for charging someone with obstruction, which prosecutors have done in some 350 cases.

This was a 6-3 ruling that took a close look at how the Department of Justice has been using a 2002 law to prosecute hundreds of Jan. 6 participants, with the majority concluding the government has gone too far.

While the act of storming the Capitol may constitute certain crimes, it does not, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, in itself constitute the felony crime of obstructing an official proceeding.

Among those watching for the ruling in this case was Oklahoma defense attorney Irven Box, who represents some Jan. 6 defendants.

"I think it's a very big victory for those people who were charged with obstruction," Box said in a Zoom interview Friday morning.

Box explained, at issue, is the DOJ's use of an obstruction statute passed in the wake of the Enron scandal two decades ago.

"And they say it doesn't apply here," Box stated, “it’s too broad of a use of that statute, so it doesn't apply."

That statute, the Justices say, requires proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents.

"What (the majority is) saying is it can't just be walking in and engaging in a riot," said CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson, "it has to be tied to some sort of document destruction."

In the dissenting opinion, Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the law clearly encompasses the events of January 6:

”The riot forced Congress to suspend the proceeding, delaying it for several hours,” she wrote.

So far, 12 Oklahomans have been arrested in connection with Jan. 6, but none have been charged with obstruction.

Of the 350 people who have been charged with obstruction, Justice Department officials say all have other felony or misdemeanor charges and thus this ruling will not clear them of all wrongdoing.

In total, more than 1,400 Americans have now been arrested and, Box says, new arrests are still being made on a nearly daily basis.

"So, it's not over," Box said. "But I think this is going to go a long ways to maybe curtail and stop some of the additional charges that might be filed in the future."

The Court announced that Monday will be the final day of the term. Among the cases still to be decided is Donald Trump's criminal immunity case.