The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared skeptical of a charge federal prosecutors have lodged against hundreds of people who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
While the court’s three-justice liberal wing signaled support for the charge, the conservative majority raised a series of skeptical questions about its potential scope and whether it would criminalize other conduct, such as protests.
The charge can tack up to 20 years onto a prison sentence.
Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer and January 6 defendant who brought the case to the Supreme Court, argued that the law at issue, created in response to the Enron scandal in 2001, was intended to stop witness tampering, not riots.
During more than an hour and a half of arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito were among those who appeared to take issue with the government’s reading of the law.
Persons:
”, Joseph Fischer, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito
Organizations:
Capitol, Enron
Locations:
Pennsylvania