A New York man charged in connection to the U.S. Capitol riot celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear a case similar to his that could delay former President Donald Trump's federal election subversion trial.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. while Congress was attempting to certify Joe Biden's 2020 election win. The riot followed unsubstantiated claims made by the former president that the election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud.
More than 1,230 people have been charged in relation to the riot, including Edward Jacob Lang. Lang was arrested from his home in Newburgh 10 days after the riot after he implicated himself by posting pictures and videos on social media placing him outside the Capitol on January 6. He has been accused of a slew of crimes, including obstruction of an official proceeding, which is a felony. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Lang and two other men face charges relating to their alleged participation in the riot who are appealing to the Supreme Court. Lang, Garrett Miller and Joseph Fischer have appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that federal prosecutors overreached in their scope of obstruction law.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court decided to hear Fischer's case. Last year, a Federal District Court granted a motion to dismiss a portion of his indictment brought under the obstruction law. Judge Carl J. Nichols said that the law required defendants to take "some action with respect to a document, record or other object" but said this was missing from Fischer's conduct on January 6. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed Nichols' decision.
"THE SUPREME COURT HAS JUST GRANTED MY JAN 6 CASE TODAY!!! All of the Deep State Prosecutors that ruined HUNDREDS OF J6ers LIVES are on FULL MELTDOWN MODE!!," Lang wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
"The 1512 Obstruction of Congress Charge (20 year max felony that 327 January 6ers & Donald Trump have been POLITICALLY charged with will be argued by me & my legal team in SCOTUS very soon!! Stay tuned & see what God is going to do!!"
Lang's lawyer, Norm Pattis, told Newsweek via email: "We are of course delighted the Supreme Court will hear the case. We hope to stop the DOJ from over criminalizing the J6 prosecutions."
While the court is not looking at Lang's case in particular, its decision to hear Fischer's case could affect Lang's case.
Trump has also been charged in relation to the Capitol riot. He was indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in August on four counts, two of which are based on the obstruction law—conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and claims that the case is politically motivated as he is the GOP front-runner in the 2024 presidential election.
If the court rules that the obstruction law does not apply to the riot, it could be disastrous for DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith's case against Trump, which rests on the allegation that the former president incited the violence on January 6.
"This should put the breaks on the Trump prosecution, unless the DOJ drops the 1512 count in his case. Since Jumpin' Jack Smith is hellbent on trying Trump immediately, let's see what the DOJ does," Pattis told Newsweek.
Trump's trial is set to begin in March, but the court's decision on the obstruction law could further complicate the case, thus delaying the trial.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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