Free Republic

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday morning in the case of Fischer v. United States, one of the many criminal cases arising out of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Like defendants in a large subset of those cases, Joseph Fischer was charged, among other offenses, with obstruction of an official proceeding under 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2). Fischer’s case in the Supreme Court challenges whether the events of that day can be prosecuted using this obstruction statute. Most of the justices seemed dubious, or at a minimum concerned, about the Department of Justice’s very broad interpretation of the...

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas faced criticism on Tuesday over comments he made during a case focused on the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. "In oral argument today, Justice Thomas is minimizing the severity of the 1/6 insurrection at the Capitol. Perhaps that's because his wife was part of the conspiracy. What a disgrace that he's sitting on this case," lawyer and former CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Thomas made comments on Tuesday as the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case relating to the Capitol riot following the 2020 presidential election with...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will soon consider whether to hear appeals brought by people charged with offenses relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol in cases that could have a major impact on the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump. The justices are weighing three different appeals brought by defendants Joseph Fischer, Edward Lang and Garret Miller...The three men are seeking to dismiss a charge accusing them of obstructing an official proceeding, namely the certification by Congress of President Joe Biden’s election victory, which was disrupted by a mob of Trump supporters. Trump has...

A federal judge has dismissed a felony obstruction charge alleging a participant in Jan. 6 Capitol riot attempted to prevent the certification of the 2020 Electoral College results. The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge for the D.C. Circuit Carl J. Nichols, a Trump administration appointee, marks the second time in eight days the judge has issued such a dismissal. Nichols ruled in the case against Joseph Fischer, who works for the North Cornwall Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, that the obstruction charge does not stand. "Nothing in Count Three (or the superseding indictment generally) alleges, let alone implies, that...

After all the honors for the US Capitol Police offcer Brian Sicknick, who died in the aftermath of the incident at the US Capitol on January 6th, dishonors on the way for many other US Capitol police officers... A cop here in Pennsylvania busted in connection with The Capitol Incident... Pfizer and BioNTech say their coronavirus vaccine can be stored at higher temperatures for two weeks. They want FDA approval... One of the latest incidents in the continuing coronavirus crackdown in Israel a police raid on a wedding attended by 100 people... ' The Biden Administration accepting European Mediation for...