Multiple Jan. 6 defendants have already been impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision to take a case weighing the scope of an obstruction statute central to their prosecution.
Federal judges put on hold the cases of defendants Ethan Seitz and Ryan Zink pending the Supreme Court’s ruling. Meanwhile, defendants Matt Bledsoe and Sandra Weyer are asking to be released as the justices consider the statute.
The Supreme Court accepted a case Dec. 13 that considers the scope of Section 1512(c)(2), which threatens to levy fines or up to 20 years in prison for anyone who “obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding.” Defendant Joseph Fischer, who was one of hundreds of defendants the Department of Justice charged under the statute for obstructing Congress’s certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the question.
