'Vast majority' of J6 cases won't be affected by Supreme Court ruling: Merrick Garland

Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on how "obstruction of an official proceeding" can be used in Jan. 6 charges won't have much of an impact.

MSNBC contributor and Just Security fellow Adam Klasfeld quoted Garland saying, "The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on Jan. 6 will not be affected by this decision."

A pie chart from Just Security shows that of the 1,417 people charged, 71 defendants still awaiting trial have the law in question. This is approximately 5 percent of the charges. Most of those currently in prison are still facing charges and have other charges involved in their cases.

Read Also: Five unresolved questions surrounding the Jan. 6 attack

Donald Trump is also among those charged in the Jan. 6 cases, but the cases have not yet gone to trial.

"There are no cases in which the Department charged a January 6 defendant only with the offense at issue in Fischer. For the cases affected by today’s decision, the Department will take appropriate steps to comply with the Court’s ruling," Garland also said.

Of the defendants who face misdemeanors, just 2.3 percent, or 33 people, face charges using Section 1512(c)(2), the law the Court decided on Friday. Those defendants also face other crimes, but are also only misdemeanors.

“January 6 was an unprecedented attack on the cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next," Garland said in the Justice Department statement. "I am disappointed by today’s decision, which limits an important federal statute that the Department has sought to use to ensure that those most responsible for that attack face appropriate consequences."

Garland also promised, "We will continue to use all available tools to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy.”

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