Appeals court upholds charge for former North Cornwall, PA officer's role in Jan. 6 riot
Source: Lebanon Daily News (Pennsylvania)
Appeals court upholds charge for former North Cornwall officer's role in Jan. 6 riot
Matthew Toth, Lebanon Daily News
Fri, April 14, 2023 at 5:07 AM EDT·3 min read
A federal appeals court decision will allow a former North Cornwall police officer to be charged with obstruction for his alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted April 7 to reverse a lower court judge's decision to dismiss obstruction of an official proceeding charges against three Jan. 6 defendants, including Joseph Fischer. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols had previously dismissed the charge in Fischer's case in 2022.
D.C. Circuit Court Judge Florence Pan wrote in the opinion that "The question raised in this case is whether individuals who allegedly assaulted law enforcement officers while participating in the Capitol riot can be charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 1512(c)(2),"
"The district court held that the statute does not apply to assaultive conduct, committed in furtherance of an attempt to stop Congress from performing a constitutionally required duty," she wrote. "We disagree and reverse."
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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/appeals-court-upholds-charge-former-090721909.html
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Opinion: United States v Joseph W. Fischer
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