CHESAPEAKE, Virginia: Donald Trump said on Friday that his supporters prosecuted for their actions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol should be freed, citing a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a man who challenged an obstruction charge related to the riot — a charge Trump also faces.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Virginia, the former president pointed to Friday’s ruling, which raised the legal bar for prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges in the federal election subversion case against Trump and defendants involved in the attack.
“Free the Jan. 6 hostages now. They should free them now for what they have gone through” Trump said, as the crowd cheered.
“They’ve been waiting for this decision for a long time,” Trump added.
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 US election.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court’s decision that had allowed a charge of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding — the congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump that the rioters sought to prevent — against defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer. The justices directed the lower court to reconsider the matter.
The ruling was a potential boost for Trump, who was hit with two obstruction-related charges as part of a four-count criminal indictment in a case brought last year by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case.
“That is a great thing for people that have been so horribly treated,” Trump said of the ruling.
Trump has often valorized his supporters convicted for their roles in the attack on the Capitol, calling them “patriots” and “warriors.” Among other crimes, some of them were prosecuted for violence against police officers.
The Supreme Court on Monday is expected to issue its ruling in Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution in the election subversion case brought by the special counsel. It is the final day of the court’s current term.
Citing Supreme Court ruling, Trump demands release of imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters
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Citing Supreme Court ruling, Trump demands release of imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters
- The Supreme Court had ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court’s decision ton an obstruction charge against a former police officer involved in the January 6 pro-Trump riot
- Trump has often valorized his supporters convicted for their roles in the attack on the Capitol, calling them “patriots” and “warriors”
Campaigning starts in CAR election
- Both of Touadera’s top critics on the ballot paper, ex-Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra and the main opposition leader Anicet-Georges Dologuele, had feared they would be barred from the election over nationality requirements
BANGUI: Campaigning has kicked off in the Central African Republic, with the unstable former French colony’s voters set to cast their ballots in a quadruple whammy of elections on Dec. 28.
Besides national, regional and municipal lawmakers, Centrafri-cains are set to pick their president, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera in pole position out of a seven-strong field after modifying the constitution to allow him to seek a third term.
Thousands of supporters packed into a 20,000-seater stadium in the capital Bangui on Saturday to listen to Touadera, accused by the opposition of wishing to cling on as president-for-life in one of the world’s poorest countries.
In his speech, Touadera, who was first elected in 2016 in the middle of a bloody civil war, styled himself as a defender of the country’s young people and insisted there was work to do to curb ongoing unrest.
“The fight for peace and security is not over,” the president warned the packed stands.
“We must continue to strengthen our army in order to guarantee security throughout the national territory and preserve the unity of our country.”
Both of Touadera’s top critics on the ballot paper, ex-Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra and the main opposition leader Anicet-Georges Dologuele, had feared they would be barred from the election over nationality requirements.
Touring the capital’s districts alongside a traveling convoy, Dologuele warned that the upcoming vote represents “a choice for national survival; a choice between resignation and hope.”
“Our people have experienced 10 years of this regime. Ten years of waiting, promises and suffering,” he added.
