Prosecutors dropping some Jan. 6 obstruction charges after Supreme Court ruling

Federal prosecutors have moved to drop charges for some Jan. 6 rioters accused of attempting to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election results following a Supreme Court ruling narrowing how the government can use the count.

Since the justices ruled 6-3 that the government overreached in its sweeping prosecution of the Capitol attack, the Justice Department has scrambled to redefine its use of the affected charge: obstruction of an official proceeding.

But in some instances, dropping the charge altogether has proved more efficient, according to court filings.

Such appears to be true in the case of Arthur Jackman, a member of the Proud Boys who on Jan. 6 was photographed in close proximity with leaders of the extremist group later convicted of seditious conspiracy for their efforts to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Trump to President Biden.

Jackman was not accused of helping those Proud Boys plot but faces other charges that he trespassed or engaged in disorderly conduct. He and his co-defendants were offered plea deals, court papers show.

“The government is still evaluating Fischer’s impact on its January 6 prosecutions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis J. Loeb wrote in filings for Jackman’s case Monday. “Nonetheless, in the interest of maintaining the current September 9 trial date in this matter, and without waiving any arguments in response to the Tucks’ supplement, the government does not plan to proceed to trial on Count One in this case.”

Prosecutors also extended a plea deal to Kellye SoRelle, an attorney for the extremist militia group Oath Keepers and onetime girlfriend of its leader, Stewart Rhodes. Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Though the details of SoRelle’s plea agreement have not yet been made public, two of the four charges she faces stem from the obstruction count recently neutered by the Supreme Court.

Several Jan. 6 defendants whose cases are being overseen by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — the judge who initially dismissed the obstruction charge against Joseph Fischer, the rioter who brought his case to the Supreme Court — have also seen federal prosecutors move to have their obstruction counts dropped.

On Tuesday, prosecutors asked to drop the obstruction charge against Gina Bisignano, a Beverly Hills, Calif., beautician who stormed the Capitol in designer apparel and shouted “You are not going to take away our Trumpy Bear” into a bullhorn.

Bisignano, whose case is being overseen by Nichols, previously pleaded guilty to five of the seven charges she faced and was set to go to trial on the two remaining counts next month — one of which was obstruction of an official proceeding. In court papers Tuesday, prosecutors asked to dismiss that charge and allow the trial to proceed on the sole remaining count, in the spirit of promoting “judicial economy and efficiency.”

Last week, prosecutors also moved to dismiss the charge for Mark Sahady, vice president of the Massachusetts-based right-wing political group Super Happy Fun America, known for once hosting a “straight pride parade” in Boston. They cited similar reasons.

The Justice Department is still determining the broader impact of the high court’s ruling on the charge. More than 350 rioters accused of interrupting Congress’s certification of the 2020 electoral vote were charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, about a quarter of everyone charged for their roles in the attack.  

In court filings across different cases, prosecutors have hinted that the justices’ decision should not hinder all prosecution under the provision. They’ve pointed to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s concurring opinion, in which she signaled her belief that Fischer and other defendants could still face prosecution once lower courts have fleshed out the matter.

Still, several previously scheduled sentencings for defendants facing the charge have been kicked down the road as the Justice Department determines its path forward, while other rioters already penalized have asked to be resentenced in light of the decision.

Wading through the ramifications of the Supreme Court decision could extend through the summer and into the fall. Trump, now the GOP’s official 2024 presidential nominee, has said he would stop the prosecutions and issue pardons if reelected.