The Supreme Court of the United States appears to be leaning towards granting Russell Alford’s request for a writ of certiorari.
Alford, one of the few defendants from the January 6th incident who has declined a plea deal, may have his case heard by the highest court in the land. Such a decision is rare, as only about 1% of cases make it to SCOTUS.
Alford is among the 75 defendants from the January 6 incident who made an official request to Republican Speaker McCarthy last year for the government’s footage of the January 6 events.
Despite spending only 13 minutes inside the Capitol on January 6, where “he mostly stood to the side and observed” and “filmed protestors chanting,” before leaving, as outlined by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Alford received the maximum sentence for four offenses.
These included Remaining in a restricted building, Disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building, Disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol Building, and parading, and Demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building.
The Court’s decision also established that “trespassers in the Capitol during the riot did not need to be acting ‘disorderly’ or ‘disruptive’ to