Jan. 6 prosecutions (For legal beagles)
I'm providing a link to Marcy Wheeler's latest emptywheel column about the January 6 prosecutions. The column itself is interesting but I mainly wanted to point out the link in it to a 30 page brief filed by a DC public defender today. It's an impressive bit of work. The issue arises for defendants who were non violent, didn't possess anything like a weapon and didn't damage anything (those prosecutions are fairly easy) who are being charged with the felony of obstructing an official proceeding. The statute requires not only obstruction but that the obstruction be done 'corruptly', whatever that might mean (and maybe it's too vague to mean anything). Why isn't this class of defendants viewed as exercising their free speech rights and are only guilty of a misdemeanor trespass charge or the like?
Anyway, anyone interested can read the brief. The DC Public Defenders are good lawyers. That issue is headed to the US Supreme Court with a bullet.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/09/08/doj-gets-closer-to-argue-terrorizing-congress-amounts-to-obstruction/