A Big Win for January 6 Protesters with Enhanced Sentences

Today Circuit Judges Millett and Pillard, and Senior Circuit Judge Rogers unanimously found that the DOJ prosecutors erroneously applied the sentencing enhancements in relation to Section 1512.  They ordered vacating the sentence and resentencing.

Specifically the Circuit Court stated:
 

[W]e hold that the “administration of justice” enhancement does not apply to interference with the legislative process of certifying electoral votes.  For that reason, we vacate Brock’s sentence for his Section 1512(c)(2) conviction and remand to the district court for resentencing.
. . . .

[W]e hold that, for purposes of Sentencing Guideline 2J1.2, the phrase “administration of justice” does not encompass Congress’s role in the electoral certification process.  Instead, Section 2J1.2’s text, context, and commentary show that “administration of justice” refers to judicial, quasi-judicial, and adjunct investigative proceedings, but does not extend to the unique congressional function of certifying electoral college votes.

Note, the Court made clear that the DOJ knew what it was doing – in other words, this was not an error – it was intentional and evil conduct by out of control politically motivated prosecutors:
 

The government admits as much, acknowledging that “the term ‘administration of justice’ is more commonly used * * * to refer to ‘interference with the pendency of some sort of judicial proceeding.’”  Gov’t Br. 43 (quoting In re Kendall, 712 F.3d 814, 828 (3d Cir. 2013)).  The government points to nothing in the text of Section 2J1.2(b)(2) or its commentary that suggests the Sentencing Commission chose to depart from that ordinary understanding of “administration of justice” and broadly sweep in the “administration of laws” by all three branches of government.

The Circuit Court did not reconsider the applicability of Section 1512 as that law was already decided by the same circuit (by different Judges) and is on the way to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case Joseph W. Fischer v. United States (Docket 23-5572) and will be heard April 16^th as you can read here.

Nonetheless, this is a victory that will reduce sentences to those January 6 protesters that suffered enhancements and is further evidence that the Department of Justice has little interest in the actual law – their goal is to throw the kitchen sink at January 6 defendants.

The track record of error and Circuit Court’s order reflecting the DOJ’s intentional conduct further clears the way for SCOTUS to find further error in the application of Section 1512 altogether which benefits virtually all January 6 defendants as well as President Trump.  We can only hope that SCOTUS Justices reprimand the out of control DOJ.