The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 ruling is expected to ripple through rioters' cases but not necessarily Trump's

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's ruling Friday in favor of a Jan. 6 defendant charged with obstruction of an official proceeding quickly triggered activity to revisit that charge in other Capitol rioter cases, but it's unlikely to derail former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case.

Justice Department officials and attorneys for Jan. 6 defendants said the court's 6-3 ruling in the case involving former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer would not have an immediate effect on most of the 1,000-plus convictions secured by prosecutors.

The court's decision is poised to have the biggest impact on the 52 rioters who were convicted and sentenced on an obstruction charge and no other felony offense. There are currently 27 defendants serving a prison sentence solely on a felony obstruction charge.

"There are no cases in which the Department charged a January 6 defendant only with the offense at issue in Fischer," Attorney General Merrick Garland noted in a statement on Friday.

All defendants charged with obstruction faced other charges; the 52 who faced only the obstruction felony charge also faced misdemeanor charges in connection with efforts to disrupt congressional certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory.

Garland went on to say that while he was "disappointed" with the Supreme Court's decision, the Justice Department "will continue to use all available tools to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy."

One Jan. 6 defendant unlikely to see much impact from Friday's decision is Trump, whose election interference case involves an obstruction charge.

Andrew Weissmann, who served as a lead prosecutor in former special counsel Robert