Court tosses Jan. 6 sentence in ruling that could affect 100 cases
The ruling by a three-judge panel raises the possibility that more than 100 defendants may be resentenced over their role in the attack on the Capitol.
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday tossed out a portion of a Jan. 6 defendant's sentence that could affect more than a hundred other cases related to the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The ruling by a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., looked at a lower court's "enhanced" sentencing of a defendant over his “substantial interference with the administration of justice” on the day Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. The appeals court ruled that “‘administration of justice’ does not encompass Congress’s role in the electoral certification process.”
Demonstrators attempt to enter the Capitol building during a protest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileThe ruling potentially opens the door to the resentencing of Jan. 6 defendants who were hit with similar sentences to that of Larry Brock, who appealed his case to the Washington court. The panel upheld Brock's overall conviction.
“We must apply the Guideline as written, and Brock’s interference with one stage of the electoral college vote-counting process — while no doubt endangering our democratic processes and temporarily derailing Congress’s constitutional work — did not interfere with the ‘administration of justice,’” said the ruling, written by Judge Patricia A. Millett.
Brock had been convicted of six charges, including “corruptly obstructing Congress’s certification of the electoral count.” Former President Donald Trump also faces a charge alleging that he obstructed an official proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.
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