A federal court on Friday struck down a sentencing enhancement brought against January 6 defendants facing felony obstruction charges, a ruling that opens the door to potential resentencing for over 100 individuals convicted for participating in the riot at the Capitol.
The particular case on which the court ruled dealt with retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Larry R. Brock Jr., whose felony conviction for obstruction of an official proceeding was upheld in the decision issued by the D.C. circuit court.
While the court’s move to overturn the sentencing enhancement — which is used to increase suggested sentences for judges to consider — may create new work for prosecutors as they move through the approximately 650 remaining charged cases stemming from January 6, sentences levied by D.C. judges generally fell below enhanced guidelines.
The court’s decision to uphold the obstruction-of-an-official-proceeding conviction has implications for former president Donald Trump as he faces charges in D.C. federal court. Alongside conspiring to defraud the U.S., conspiring against the right to have one’s vote counted, and conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, Trump has been charged with the same crime as Brock.
While many January 6 defendants have argued that “obstructing an official proceeding” applies only to the destruction of evidence — the charge was initially created to prosecute those who attempt to hide financial crimes — the court has already ruled that it applies to preventing Congress from certifying a presidential election. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to review that decision on April 16.
The judges, all appointed by Democrats, argued that whether Brock committed acts of violence or was aware that Trump lost the 2020 election was immaterial.
“The evidence showed that Brock participated in a riot that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election by force,” the judges wrote, “and that he was himself prepared to take violent action to achieve that goal.”