Jonathan Turley: Supreme Court ‘Downgraded’ Jan 6 to ‘Trespassing’
Nick R. HamiltonJuly 2, 2024 - 9:27
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley has revealed that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Jan. 6 defendants has now “downgraded” the charges related to the Capitol protests to merely “trespassing.”
Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, was responding to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling striking down the use of a 2001 statute to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants with obstruction of a legal proceeding.
In a new op-ed in The Hill, Turley said the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fischer V. U.S. downgraded the breach of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, from the “insurrection” the Democrats and media have trumpeted to mere “trespassing.”
Hundreds of January 6 defendants will now see the obstruction charges against them dropped.
One of those defendants is President Donald Trump.
The high court said the obstruction statute, created after the Enron scandal to apply to the destruction of official documents and records, was used incorrectly by Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ used the charge to make the events of that day seem more serious and justify the use of the term “insurrection” against Trump and his supporters.
The “novel interpretation would criminalize a broad swath of prosaic conduct, exposing activists and lobbyists alike to decades in prison,” the majority opinion in the case read.
Along with Turley, many now feel vindicated in calling Jan. 6 the Capitol “breach” instead of a “riot” or “insurrection.” While some involved in the protests at the Capitol may have broken the law,a trespassing or unlawful entry charge is more appropriate to their actions.
The very idea that Trump supporters had launched an “insurrection” was ludicrous from the beginning. Other protesters who enter public buildings are not charged with obstruction.
Additionally, the official action of that day to certify the electoral votes was not stopped, only delayed by the protesters’ actions.It’s clear that the “insurrection” narrative was only pushed to give Democrats an electoral advantageor to try to keep Trump off the ballot.
Nevertheless, the public is seeing through the effort.: A Washington Post poll released last week shows that more voters see President Joe Biden as a threat to democracy than Trump.
This comes despite the constant and contradicting drumbeat of Democrats and their corporate media allies that democracy will be over if Trump gets re-elected.
• In the poll, 44% said Trump would do a better job of protecting democracy than Biden.
• Only 33% thought Biden would do better at protecting democracy.
Obviously, voters distrust the corporate media, as they should.
Trump would have little support otherwise, and his election in 2024 will count on voters’ skepticism. For the defendants who have already been convicted on obstruction charges and served time, the ruling and the skepticism of the media’s “insurrection” narrative may be “a bit late,” Turley said.
In fact, they may be looking for a remedy.
https://slaynews.com/news/turley-supreme-court-downgraded-jan-6-trespassing/