'Devastating': Early release for Jan. 6 rioters before SCOTUS ruling could 'wreak havoc'

The early release of some convicted Jan. 6 rioters ahead of a pivotal Supreme Court ruling could wreak havoc on the legal system, according to a new analysis.

Those defendants include a Delaware man who carried a Confederate flag into the Capitol, an Ohio man who overran police lines and a man who entered the just-evacuated Senate chamber with a Trump flag, the Washington Post reports.

"If the Supreme Court ultimately determines the charge they faced was legitimate, they and others who are released early pending appeal could be ordered to return to prison — but that is not a certainty," writes Spencer S. Hsu.

Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story.

Hsu reported on the early releases a week before the Supreme Court's is slated to hear arguments on whether the key charge against them is legal sound.

Should the Supreme Court decide, in a ruling expected in early summer, to uphold the legitimacy of the charge, it won't affect most of the 1,350 Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants, Hsu writes.

But, "it could wreak havoc on more than 100 cases in which obstruction — or corruptly impeding – Congress’s lawful certification of the 2020 election is the only felony charge the defendant faces."

The outlet estimates that about half of 120 sentenced cases specifically fall in this category.

Hsu highlighted three specific Jan. 6 defendants including Kevin Seefried, Alexander Sheppard, and Thomas Adams Jr. who were ordered to be freed before the Supreme Court hearing.

Seefried, a 54-year-old drywall installer, in particular gained some notoriety for waving a giant Confederate flag through the U.S. Capitol back on Jan. 6 and charged by the feds for obstruction among other charges.

Sheppard, 24, of Powell, Ohio, is expected to be released in in May after the Post reported U.S. District Judge John D. Bates seemed to bank on the defendant’s contention that the Supreme Court’s review “raises a ‘substantial question’ as to the validity of his … conviction.”

But if the Supreme Court affirms [the law], he will "have the remainder of his 19-month sentence yet to serve.”

Adams, 42, of Springfield, Illinois already was released in January after serving five months of his 14 month sentence.

Should the justices shut down the statute, it could prove drastic, Hsu concludes, and points to a comment from retired U.S. District judge Thomas F. Hogan.

"A full rejection by the court 'would have a devastating effect on the prosecution side' in Capitol attack felony cases that don’t otherwise involve violence," Hsu wrote.

Hsu also draws attention to a high-profile obstruction case linked to Jan. 6, 2021.

"A Supreme Court ruling against the obstruction charge could also impact the election interference case that special counsel Jack Smith has brought against Trump," he writes. "Two of the four counts the former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee faces are conspiring to and actually obstructing the certification of the election, underscoring the stakes of the high-court review.

Recommended Links: