Judge rejects Oath Keepers’ efforts to dismiss charge in Jan. 6 prosecutions

(CNN) — A national justice has ruled against a notable effort to propulsion retired the felony complaint that’s the backbone of Jan. 6 transgression prosecutions, bolstering the government’s lawsuit against 17 Oath Keeper defendants accused of conspiring to overtake the US Capitol.

“The tribunal is persuaded by nary of their contentions,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote successful his Monday sentiment of the Oath Keeper defendants’ arguments to disregard their felony obstruction of a legislature proceeding charge.

Mehta decided that the Jan. 6 rioters’ alleged actions could beryllium charged nether the instrumentality protecting authoritative proceedings of Congress and characterized arsenic obstruction akin to witnesser tampering. “If the authorities tin transportation its load of impervious astatine trial, a condemnation of Defendants premised connected specified activities would not interruption the First Amendment,” the justice wrote.

His ruling means the lawsuit moves up to trial.

Defendants successful Jan. 6 cases person tried to reason they weren’t obstructing Congress nether the law, and that the electoral ballot certification couldn’t beryllium called an authoritative proceeding, among different things.

Mehta is present the 3rd justice successful the DC District Court to let Justice Department prosecutors to proceed toward proceedings with their cases against much important Jan. 6 riot defendants.

If judges statesman to divided connected the issue, hundreds of cases could beryllium temporarily sent into chaos arsenic appeals play out. But that has not happened yet, and Mehta’s ruling successful the Oath Keepers’ lawsuit — the largest conspiracy obstruction lawsuit successful the sprawling riot probe — is apt to beryllium influential successful the courthouse, though appeals are inactive possible.

To this point, national prosecutors person allowed dozens of nonviolent rioters to plead blameworthy to a misdemeanor offense, which caps their imaginable jailhouse clip astatine six months. Only 19 of the 50 misdemeanor cases ended with incarceration, according to CNN’s latest tally. An further 4 defendants person been convicted of felonies, and they received sentences ranging from 8 months to 3.5 years successful prison.

Members of the Oath Keepers are among the right-wing extremists alleged to person played a large relation successful the Jan. 6 attack, with immoderate seen weaving done the assemblage successful subject enactment and entering the Capitol Rotunda.

The radical — a nationwide, decentralized anti-government militia — recruits subject veterans and pushes a conspiracy mentation asserting that the authorities is trying to destruct American liberty. The sanction is an allusion to an oath sworn by constabulary and subject unit to support the Constitution against “all enemies, overseas and domestic.”