In a decisive blow to federal prosecutors, Judge Beryl Howell ruled against the Justice Department's effort to preserve felony obstruction charges against participants of the January 6 Capitol riot, Politico reported.
Judge Beryl Howell's ruling follows a Supreme Court decision limiting the scope of obstruction laws previously applied to the defendants.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in a chaotic effort to obstruct the presidential power transfer to Joe Biden. This day marked one of the most severe assaults on democracy in recent U.S. history.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling in June, determined that the use of the obstruction statute against these rioters was overly broad. Originally, over 300 defendants faced these charges before the high court's decision.
Following the Supreme Court's reinterpretation, the Justice Department retracted many of the obstruction charges, reassessing the remaining cases. They argued that charges could apply if it could be proven that the defendants intended to specifically disrupt the handling of Electoral College ballots by Congress.
In her ruling issued on a recent Friday, Judge Howell found no evidence to suggest the defendants intended to physically damage the electoral ballots, focusing instead on halting the certification process.
During the riot, Congressional staff swiftly secured the ballots, ensuring they were unharmed and available for the continuation of the certification process once the order was restored.
Judge Howell's decision, although not binding on other courts, carries significant weight due to her former role as chief judge and her respected position in the judiciary. This ruling could influence other cases involving similar charges against rioters.
She pointed out that the primary goal of the rioters was to stop the certification, not to damage the documents required for the process.
“To the contrary, the record amply shows defendants’ intent to stop Members of Congress from proceeding with the certification,” Howell stated.
Howell further clarified, “But Members are not evidence,” underscoring the misapplication of the law as argued by the government.
On the day of the riot, non-screened rioters flooded the Capitol, posing unprecedented security risks. Howell remarked on the protective actions taken by Congressional aides: “In the context of the overall catastrophic security breach posed by non-security screened rioters roaming Capitol corridors and rooms, the removal of the ballots from the Senate and House chambers preserved their availability for use in the certification process, rather than impaired that availability.”
She elaborated that the integrity of the electoral ballots was not compromised by the events, a point not contested by the prosecution. “No evidence suggests that the electoral ballots’ ‘integrity,’... was affected by the events on January 6, 2021, and the government does not argue otherwise,” Howell explained.
This interpretation by Howell stretches beyond a reasonable interpretation of the Supreme Court's ruling, indicating a significant judicial pushback against broad applications of the law.
