{"id":734007,"date":"2021-09-09T12:35:12","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T16:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=734007"},"modified":"2021-09-09T12:35:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T16:35:17","slug":"whats-the-limiting-principle-judge-reportedly-warns-alleged-capitol-rioters-could-be-facing-unconstitutional-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whats-the-limiting-principle-judge-reportedly-warns-alleged-capitol-rioters-could-be-facing-unconstitutional-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What\u2019s The Limiting Principle?\u2019: Judge Reportedly Warns Alleged Capitol Rioters Could Be Facing Unconstitutional Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhats-the-limiting-principle-judge-reportedly-warns-alleged-capitol-rioters-could-be-facing-unconstitutional-charges%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=734007&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge reportedly questioned Wednesday whether the obstruction of an official proceeding charge levied against more than 200 alleged Capitol rioters would pass constitutional muster.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta questioned whether the charge \u2014 leveled against at least 235 individuals \u2014 is too vague to be applied.<\/p>\n<p>Mehta asked how prosecutors are distinguishing between \u201cobstructing an official proceeding\u201d of Congress, a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison, and the other misdemeanor offenses with which other alleged <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/06\/josh-hawley-capitol-riot-prosecuted-assault-cops\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rioters<\/a> have been charged such as shouting and interrupting a congressional hearing, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/legal-issues\/oathkeepers-obstruction-charge-vague\/2021\/09\/08\/9a833eaa-10c3-11ec-bc8a-8d9a5b534194_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEssentially, what you said is, \u2018Trust us\u2019 \u2026 And that is a real problem when it comes to criminal statutes, to suggest, \u2018We know it when we see it, and we\u2019ll pick and choose when it is an appropriate exercise of prosecutorial discretion,\u201d Mehta reportedly said. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/14\/capitol-building-capitol-riot-dc-district-court-fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Feds Arrest Five Family Members Who Walked Into Capitol Building During Jan. 6 Riot)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege at least 235 defendants disrupted the electoral certification on Jan. 6. Some of those charged with the felony are not accused of destroying property or hurting anyone, but rather sat in the Senate chamber, according to the Post.<\/p>\n<p>Several defendants, however, allege the Jan. 6 session to certify the electoral vote does not count as an official congressional proceeding and therefore the law cannot be applied, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>Mehta said it is up to the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/12\/department-of-justice-100-charges-capitol-riots-january-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">government<\/a> to explicitly prove how \u201ccorruptly\u201d obstructing Congress is different from other misdemeanor charges like trespassing or disorderly conduct in the Capitol, charges that carry a maximum of six months in jail, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe million-dollar question is, what\u2019s the limiting principle?\u201d Mehta said, according to the Post.<\/p>\n<p>Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler argued that the alleged rioters\u2019 objective \u201cwas not just to halt proceeding\u201d but \u201cto scare Congress into halting proceedings,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7279092\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"40\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7279092\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7279092\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A video shows rioters during the Select Committee investigation of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, during their first hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2021. - The committee is hearing testimony from members of the US Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department who tried to protect the Capitol against insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/capitol-riot-IN-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7279092\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A video shows rioters during the Select Committee investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, during their first hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2021. \u2013 (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cScaring the daylights out of everyone in the House or Senate \u2026 to me is very different than destroying evidence or intimidating witness,\u201d Mehta said, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>Nestler said the government will prove the defendants \u201cintended to intimidate Congress\u201d and therefore fall under the felony charge.<\/p>\n<p>David Fischer is defending Navy veteran Thomas Caldwell and said interrupting the vote certification is not the same as obstructing justice, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would be like someone interrupting a congressional declaration of war. That\u2019s a very serious event, but it\u2019s not obstruction of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss also questioned last month whether the statue could be applied.<\/p>\n<p>Moss called on both sides to address the question of how the government distinguishes between felony conduct and misdemeanor conduct, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/legal-issues\/capitol-riot-charge-vague\/2021\/08\/06\/018b4cf8-f483-11eb-9068-bf463c8c74de_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Washington Post<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>Moss warned there could be a \u201cconstitutional vagueness problem\u201d if the government is unable to explicitly explain the difference between obstructing Congress and simply trespassing into the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless we can tell the public where that line is, there\u2019s a problem,\u201d Moss reportedly said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge reportedly questioned Wednesday whether the obstruction of an official proceeding charge levied against more than 200 alleged Capitol rioters would pass constitutional muster.U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-734007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}