Capitol riot defendants face upheld trespassing charges in US court

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld the use of a criminal trespassing charge against nearly all of the 1,500 defendants accused of taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, rejecting an attempt to further restrict the charges available to prosecutors.

In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected an appeal by defendant Couy Griffin to toss out his conviction on a misdemeanor charge that bars unauthorized people from entering restricted areas protected by the U.S. Secret Service.

Griffin argued that federal prosecutors must prove that he knew that then-Vice President Mike Pence was at the Capitol on the day of the riot, creating the need for Secret Service protection. Pence presided over the congressional certification of the 2020 election results at the Capitol that day.

The court, in upholding Griffin's conviction, found that prosecutors only had to prove the defendant knowingly entered a restricted area. 

"We have no basis to conclude that Congress intended to undermine its vital aim by requiring proof that an intruder knew, when he breached a federally restricted area, that a Secret Service protectee was or would be present," U.S. Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote for the majority.

A ruling against the government could have complicated scores of Jan. 6 prosecutions. As of August, about 95% of all Capitol riot defendants faced that trespassing charge, according to U.S. Justice Department figures.

Several defendants have brought legal challenges over its use in Jan. 6 cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June heightened the legal standard for prosecutors pursuing a different felony obstruction charge against those accused of taking part in the riot, forcing prosecutors to reassess more than 250 cases.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington declined to comment on Tuesday's ruling. A lawyer for Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Griffin, a former New Mexico county commissioner and founder of the group "Cowboys for Trump," that supported former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, entered the Capitol grounds during the riot and climbed on a stage built for the presidential inauguration later that month.

A judge found him guilty of two misdemeanor offenses and sentenced him to 14 days in jail in 2022.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Andy Sullivan and Sandra Maler)