Hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants facing felony obstruction charges now have their cases in limbo after a divided appeals court ruling Friday, Politico reported.
"The three-judge panel spared the Justice Department an immediate disaster by agreeing to permit three challenged Jan. 6 obstruction cases to continue. But the judges — one liberal and two conservatives — all raised serious questions about whether other Jan. 6 obstruction cases might face legitimate challenges," Politico's report stated.
At issue is whether Jan. 6 rioters acted with “corrupt intent," which is central to the definition of "obstruction" as a crime. According to the judges, "corrupt intent" must be proved in order to make sure the defendants are not charged for participating in a legitimate protest.
Judge Florence Pan, who wrote the majority opinion, said that it was the wrong time to consider such a question since three defendants whose cases were before the court were all also charged with assaulting police, adding that there's no doubt those who assaulted police acted with "corrupt intent" -- but Jan. 6 cases that don't involve assault are more complicated.
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“It is more prudent to delay addressing the meaning of ‘corrupt’ intent until that issue is properly presented to the court,” Pan wrote.
As Politico points out, over 300 Jan. 6 defendants have been charged with obstructing Congress’ proceedings, many of whom did not assault police.
Read the full report over at Politico.
