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8mo ago

Former Officer's Jan. 6 Sentence Reduced After Supreme Court Ruling

Thomas Robertson's prison term cut by over a year following a decision impacting obstruction charges used against Capitol rioters.

Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington. A former Virginia police officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol has received a reduced prison sentence of six years. Former Rocky Mount Police Sgt. Thomas Robertson's re-sentencing on Wednesday makes him one of the first beneficiaries of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited the government’s use of a federal obstruction law. (John Minchillo - File / AP)
Joseph Fischer is seen in photos that were part of an FBI arrest warrant. Joseph Fischer, a former police officer in central Pennsylvania, faces seven charges including disorderly conduct and impeding police officers in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. His trial has been on hold since his arrest in February 2021 while he asks the Supreme Court to rule on whether one of the statutes behind an obstruction charge applies to him. More than one in four of the Jan. 6 defendants – including former President Donald Trump – were charged under the same obstruction statute, so the case could have wide-ranging impact. “It might get violent,” Fischer wrote in a series of texts about his plans for Jan. 6, according to court records. He warned his police chief he might need him to “post bail.” Fischer made it inside the Rotunda before police pepper-sprayed him and he left, according to court records. He spent less than 4 minutes inside the Capitol. “Take democratic congress to the gallows,” Fischer wrote later during the riot, according to court records. “Can’t vote if they can’t breathe..lol.”
Thomas Robertson on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Overview

  • Robertson's sentence was reduced from over seven years to six years.
  • The reduction follows a Supreme Court ruling limiting the use of a federal obstruction law.
  • Robertson was convicted on multiple charges, including interfering with police and destroying evidence.
  • The ruling could affect hundreds of other cases, including those against former President Donald Trump.
  • Robertson expressed remorse for his actions during the Capitol riot.