(ProsperNews.net) – January 6 protestor John Strand has been released from jail following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the application of a felony obstruction charge. US District Judge Christopher Cooper granted Strand’s motion for release, and he will leave prison on July 24. Mr. Strand went to Washington, DC, on the day of the infamous protests with friend Dr. Simone Gold, who has served a 60-day sentence for entering and remaining in restricted buildings and grounds. Dr. Gold celebrated Judge Cooper’s ruling, saying it was a “great day for justice.”
Gold told reporters, however, that Strand had had a difficult time in prison and spent much of it in solitary confinement. She said he refused a plea deal because he believed the charges were unjust and described him as a “hero.”
Strand was convicted on five counts in September 2022, including a 20-year felony obstruction charge that was applied to more than 350 January 6 protesters and former President Donald Trump. In a recent Supreme Court ruling, Justices determined that section 1512(c) of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which prohibits obstruction of official proceedings, had been interpreted too broadly and did not apply to the January 6 charges.
In the case before the Supreme Court, Fischer v United States, Mr. Fischer’s attorneys argued that the statute was intended to criminalize aspects of corporate fraud and evidence tampering and was inappropriate when applied to his client. The Justices agreed in a ruling that experts say could significantly impact Donald Trump.
Trump faces two accusations of breaching section 1512(c), which are tied to the federal case in Washington, DC, that is currently paused as Judges consider the impact of another Supreme Court ruling awarding partial prosecutorial immunity to the former President. The Court determined that Trump was immune to acts carried out in the course of official duties as President. Lower courts must now decide which aspects of Trump’s conduct were official and which were not.
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