In a ruling that could have far-reaching implications for perhaps hundreds of people arrested following the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol Building, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled that at least some of them were “improperly” sentenced.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit determined that defendant and former Air Force officer Larry Brock’s sentence was flawed as it wrongly incorporated charges of “interference with the administration of justice.” Circuit Judge Millett, the author of the court’s opinion, stated that interference with Congress’ certification of the electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election does not warrant a sentence enhancement.
Brock challenges both the district court’s interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2)’s elements and the sufficiency of the evidence to support that conviction. He also challenges the district court’s application of the three-level sentencing enhancement for interfering with the ‘administration of justice,’” Millett wrote.

The appeals court affirmed Brock’s conviction but disagreed with how he was sentenced, noting: “As for Brock’s sentence, we hold that the ‘administration of justice’ enhancement does not apply to interference with the legislative process of certifying electoral votes.”

While other aspects of Larry Brock’s conviction were upheld, the higher court nevertheless ruled it would “vacate Brock’s sentence” while remanding the case back to the district court to resentence the single “interference” charge.