Challenges to Jan. 6 Obstruction of Congress Prosecutions Pile Up at US Supreme Court

Novel use of a corporate-fraud statute gives federal prosecutors ‘unbridled, standardless discretion to effectively make up their own law,’ new filing says.

Supporters of President Donald Trump protest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

The evidence-tampering statute being used by the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants is unconstitutionally broad, interferes with First Amendment free speech, and has left prosecutors with “unbridled, standardless discretion to effectively make up their own law,” a new Supreme Court filing argues.

The High Court is considering whether to take up a challenge to the use of the law (pdf) brought by Jan. 6 defendant Edward Jacob Lang, 28, of New York.