Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch grilled Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar over the extreme prison sentences handed down to January 6 defendants when compared with similarly situated left-wing protesters and rioters, the overwhelming majority of whom face slaps on the wrist if they face any accountability at all.
The court is currently hearing oral arguments in a case brought forward by former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer, one of several hundred January 6 defendants charged with an obscure felony for “obstruction of an official proceeding.” The novel legal theory draws from the Enron corruption scandal and has been exclusively deployed against January 6 defendants.
While January 6 defendants are charged with the felony statute, in addition to a handful of misdemeanors, the vast majority of left-wing protesters are not even charged when engaging in similar conduct. There has been no four-year manhunt to hunt down trespassers from the 2020 riots — thousands of whom trespassed on federal property — nor has the DOJ hunted pro-Palestine protesters who have stormed the White House, abortion protesters, far-left militants who attacked federal courthouses in 2020, and thousands of other left-wing protesters who have occupied federal buildings and obstructed proceedings.
During Wednesday’s arguments, Gorsuch pressed Prelogar over the disparities in sentencing while referencing a number of examples, including the protests against Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. “Would a sit-in that disrupts a trial or access to a federal courthouse qualify? Would a heckler in today’s audience qualify or at the State of the Union address?” Gorsuch questioned.
“Would pulling a fire alarm before a vote qualify for 20 years in federal prison?” he continued, referencing the incident where Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm and caused Congress to pause a vote. Bowman was given a slap on the wrist where he avoided jail time and was merely required to write an apology essay about his actions.
Prelogar responded by referring to real world examples cited by Gorsuch as “hypotheticals.” She went on to state that proving intent is a key aspect of the statute and insinuated that malicious intent was evident in the case of Trump supporters on January 6, though this is not the case with “minor disruptions” from left-wing protesters.
“So that means that if you have some minor disruption or delay or some minimal outburst, we don’t think it falls within the actus reus to begin with,” she said.
“My outbursts require the court to reconvene after the proceeding has been brought back into line, or the pulling of the fire alarm, the vote has to be rescheduled, or the protest outside of a courthouse makes it inaccessible for a period of time. Are those all federal felonies subject to 20 years in prison?” Gorsuch followed up.
“So, with some of them it would be necessary to show nexus. So with respect to the protest outside the courthouse, we’d have to show that yes, they were aiming at proceeding,” she continued, prompting Gorsuch to point out that they clearly were attempting to halt the proceeding.
“Yes, and then we’d also have to be able to prove that they acted corruptly and this sets a stringent mens rea. It’s not even just the mere intent to obstruct. We have to show that also, but we have to show that they had corrupt intent in acting in that way,” she continued.
“But I guess what I would say is that to the extent that your hypotheticals are pressing on the idea of a peaceful protest, even one that’s quite disruptive, it’s not clear to me that the government would be able to show that each of those protesters had corrupt intent.”
Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch nukes Joe Biden’s DOJ over January 6th sentences:
Gorsuch lists multiple cases of folks who “obstructed a Congressional proceeding” without receiving a 20 year sentence.
1. Sit-ins at a trial (Kavanaugh protests)
2. Pulling a fire alarm (Rep.… pic.twitter.com/DWETkzi7JI— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 16, 2024
To date, the Biden DOJ has charged more than 1,400 Americans in connection with the January 6 Capitol protests. The nationwide hunt continues to this day, nearly four hours after the minor riot. Hundreds of defendants have been sentenced to months or even years in prison for non-violent conduct, with 64 percent of those convicted sentenced to prison.
Not one of those people on Jan. 6th killed anyone. It is outrageous when they let BLM go around for a year and more, killing, looting and destruction of our country. Go the hell after them. The Democrats did this to try and bury the voting fraud that had occurred in 2020 to bring a senile old man into office and to only use him as a vessel. The American people know what they did. No one would investigate the election and all of the Politicians kept quiet. Now look at what they did to Mike Lindell, a patriot who spent money and time trying to prove the election was a fraud. Now the poor man is broke. These bunch of traitors all should be shot.
Do you think that Trump will win? I do not believe they will let him win Obama is very smart.
But the Democrats still get away with all of their crimes. They lie, kill and ruin people’s lives if you go against them. It was a cover up on that day by the Democrats and especially Nancy Pelosi. They could not tolerate being caught in their scam when putting Biden in office. I would like to see everyone arrested for this horrible day that the Democrats preplanned.
Grilling is not enough. Dems. only respond to jail sentences.
Oh no they must be grilled, over a bed of hot coals at around 300 degrees, give them time to baste in they’re own juices. See if the corruption sweats out of them. And this does not mean one political party, But all corrupt politicians who commit FRAUD on the citizens of the USA on an hourly basis. Open up the Senate and Congress to 25 hour televised recordings that the Citizens they are supposed to represent can actually see how they vote, How they act while in session.All bills should have at least one month for reading before any vote can take place, No more closed door meetings except for National Security reasons. All Senators and Congress men/women must attend all votes, no proxy voting, lobbying of any politician should be banned by law, with a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, also any politician who uses they’re knowlege of contracts being issued by Government to buy stocks/bonds or gains monemone monetarily should be charged with insider trading with fines in the millions and loss of office plus jail time. The Supreme Court should not be able to create any laws, which is not they’re job. They are to interpret the language and meaning plus constitutionality of laws passed. The President should not have the privilege of Executive orders to bypass Congress, but can retain the veto vote. All laws need to be reviewed and laws that no longer apply removed from the legal system. Police and Judge’s should not have Qualified Immunity they need to follow the rules and laws like all Citizens.
Different standards for violent rioters than those that followed directions from Congressional guards to enter the building and just wanderer around, but destructive fires and riots go without punishment on cities streets?
When is Pelosi going to be indicted