Justice Department drops some January 6 obstruction charges and retools plea deals after Supreme Court ruling

CNN —

Weeks after the Supreme Court narrowed how the Justice Department can pursue obstruction charges against January 6 rioters, federal prosecutors are beginning to offer retooled plea deals or drop that specific charge against members of the mob that attacked the US Capitol.

These developments are slowly trickling out in court filings, as prosecutors make clear that they plan to continue holding the rioters accountable within the constraints of the justices’ decision.

According to Justice Department statistics, there were roughly 259 defendants facing the obstruction charge – a federal statute that makes it a crime to obstruct an official proceeding – when the high court issued its ruling that narrowed how the law can be applied.

Among those individuals are five alleged members of the Proud Boys organization, though they aren’t accused of being leaders or coordinating the far-right group’s alleged plot to breach the US Capitol. They are Arthur Jackman, Edward George Jr., Paul Rae and the father-and-son duo of Kevin and Nate Tuck.

US President Joe Biden, left greets Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate justice of the US Supreme Court, while arriving for a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Election-year politics will increase the focus on Biden's remarks and lawmakers' reactions, as he's stumping to the nation just months before voters will decide control of the House, Senate, and White House. Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Related article Biden to push for Supreme Court ethics reform, term limits and amendment to overturn immunity ruling, sources say

In a court filing Monday, prosecutors said that each defendant has been