U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) confronted Attorney General Merrick Garland over the Department of Justice’s use of an obscure statute to charge January 6 protesters with felonies when they would have otherwise faced misdemeanor trespassing charges.
In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Fischer v. United States, a case centered on the obstruction count. Federal prosecutors have charged hundreds of peaceful January 6 protesters with violating 18 USC Section 1512(c)(2), obstructing or impeding an official proceeding, a felony that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. Hundreds of defendants have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms under the statute when they would have otherwise faced low-level misdemeanors.
The obscure legal theory advanced by prosecutors draws from the Enron corruption scandal and is expected to be struck down by the Supreme Court. Still, D.C. judges and federal prosecutors have already vowed to ignore the Supreme Court’s expected ruling and take the unprecedented step of sentencing protesters to lengthy prison terms on misdemeanor charges.
On Tuesday, Rep. Spartz confronted Garland over his department’s use of the statute and aggressive pursuit of January 6 protesters.
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“Okay, so the history, the section was legislated