The Justice Department will abandon obstruction charges against former police officer Joseph Fischer for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Reuters reported. The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the definition for the charge, which may impact another 250 such cases.
The Jan. 6 defendants await their fate after allegedly participating in a riot to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election. These supporters of former President Donald Trump believed he was robbed of the election and sought justice by demonstrating at the Capitol.
Fischer was charged with obstruction but prevailed at the Supreme Court. The court found that Fischer did not cross the legal threshold that he "impaired the availability or integrity" of records and documents.
The government will still try Fischer on six other charges against him, including assaulting an officer. The trial has a tentative start date of February 2025 for Fischer, who has pleaded not guilty.
Fischer was a North Cornwall, Pennsylvania, police officer when he was arrested for his role in the riot. The state charged him with obstruction based on a statute federal prosecutors believed broadly applied to those who breached the Capitol.
However, after hearing arguments from his attorney, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols dismissed the obstruction charge. This sent the matter up to the Supreme Court for an appeal, which found in favor of Fischer in a 6-3 decision.
Prosecutors have since dropped the charge for more than 60 defendants. Trump has similarly been pinned with two charges related to obstruction for his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, but will likely use Fischer's case as a defense.
Following the court's decision to drop the charge, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was "disappointed" but would prosecute the "vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants" facing other charges. "There are no cases in which the Department charged a January 6 defendant only with the offense at issue in Fischer," Garland said.
"For the cases affected by today’s decision, the Department will take appropriate steps to comply with the Court’s ruling. We will continue to use all available tools to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy," he added.
Three other cases will proceed even after the Fischer decision. Prosecutors believe that some of the defendants pierced the new threshold applied by the Supreme Court.
The charge remains for defendants Donald and Shawndale Chilcoat, who are husband and wife, after prosecutors argued that they knew they were tampering with records required for the proceedings, "specifically, the electoral votes that Congress was to consider." Others like Christopher Carnell and David Bowman were already found guilty of obstruction and may face more litigation.
Prosecutors another trial to make the charges stick, noting that the defendants tampered with documents on the Senate floor, including photographing a letter signed by Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. Defense attorney Nick Smith, who has battled over obstruction charges, is puzzled at why prosecutors are so intent on proceeding.
“It’s remarkable for the government to be going at this specific charge so persistently when the Supreme Court has told them 'no,'" Smith noted. This decision to pursue charges already at odds with the Supreme Court mirrors special counsel Jack Smith's decision to go after Trump with a retooled indictment after the high court decided in favor of presidential immunity, CNN reported.
It's amazing that prosecutors are so doggedly pursuing the Jan. 6 defendants and Trump despite legal obstacles. While there is surely a case to be made about the crimes of Jan. 6, the outsized reaction and determination from prosecutors perhaps point to political motives.
