>100 people convicted of participation in the #Jan6, 2021, #insurrection at the Capitol may have to be resentenced after a #FederalAppealsCourt Fri overturned a #sentencing enhancement used to help determine their punishments.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit came in the case of retired #AirForce LtCol Larry R #Brock Jr, who had appealed his #felony#conviction of… [#obstruction]. #Trump faces the same charge.
The court, a panel of 3 Democratic appointees, did NOT overturn the conviction. But it said that a lower court judge erred in deciding that #Brock should face a stiffer sentence for “substantial interference w/the administration of justice,” ruling that the #penalty does not apply to #crimes committed at the Capitol.
≥100 people convicted in connection w/the #Jan6 attack have had their punishments shaped by that enhancement, & they could now ask to be sentenced anew.
That does not mean they would necessarily face lighter terms. Sentencing enhancements raise the suggested range of #prison time that a judge must consider. But in DC, judges have generally imposed penalties below those recommended ranges, & they have often said their punishments would be the same regardless of what enhancements they applied.
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