Ex-cop has Jan. 6 sentence shortened following landmark ruling - and it could benefit Trump

A former police officer who was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot has had his sentence lessened after a Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of a federal obstruction charge.

The case could influence the outcome of other January 6 proceedings, including against former President Donald Trump.

Thomas Robertson received his seven-year sentence after he was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, entering andremaining in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct.

The sentence was reduced to six years on Wednesday. It was the first time that a defendant linked to the insurrection was resentenced after the Supreme Court ruling, according to USA Today.

Robertson, alongside other defendants, pushed back against the obstruction charge, arguing that the legislation required that he acted “corruptly,” but he lost his appeal.

He argued that he didn’t act corruptly because he didn’t try to attain any personal benefit by taking part.

However, another officer, Joseph Fischer, argued that the charge couldn’t apply to him or others such as Robertson as the law was written to stop the destruction of documents after the Enron energy scandal. While the officers entered the Capitol, they rejected the notion that they destroyed public records.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fischer and in June, the court ordered lower courts to take another look at obstruction cases to see if they had anything to do with the destruction of records. Fischer now won’t be charged with obstruction.

After the Fischer ruling, Robertson requested a shorter sentence.

One of his attorneys, Mark Rollins, said, “This decision underscores that while the conviction remains, the