Appeals court upholds charge for former North Cornwall officer's role in Jan. 6 riot
A federal appeals court decision will allow a former North Cornwall police officer to be charged with obstruction for his alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted April 7 to reverse a lower court judge's decision to dismiss obstruction of an official proceeding charges against three Jan. 6 defendants, including Joseph Fischer. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols had previously dismissed the charge in Fischer's case in 2022.
D.C. Circuit Court Judge Florence Pan wrote in the opinion that "The question raised in this case is whether individuals who allegedly assaulted law enforcement officers while participating in the Capitol riot can be charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 1512(c)(2),"
"The district court held that the statute does not apply to assaultive conduct, committed in furtherance of an attempt to stop Congress from performing a constitutionally required duty," she wrote. "We disagree and reverse."
Fischer's charges include obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstruction of justice/Congress. He has pled not guilty.
"Fischer allegedly belonged to the mob that forced Congress to stop its certification process," Pan wrote in her opinion. "On January 6, 2021, he encouraged rioters to 'charge' and 'hold the line,' had a 'physical encounter' with at least one law enforcement officer, and participated in pushing the police."
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In a criminal complaint made in 2021, officials said Fischer was bragging on his Facebook profile about storming the federal building. Under the username SV Spindrift, he published a video featuring him at the front of a group of rioters pushing police officers.
"The defendant has made several statements in the aftermath of the storming of the (U.S.) Capitol, in which he says that 'We are at war' and where he references personal access to firearms," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Steiner said in a hearing in 2021. "(Fischer) also told another person that he should 'Make right with God, Brother.'"
These posts were made on Fischer's Facebook page, which also contained statements like, "I know what I saw on the sixth. Amazing site to see. Sad to see the bloodshed. But we are at war."
Fischer was terminated from the North Cornwall Township Police Department in June 2021. He refused to participate into an investigation about his conduct on Jan. 6, according to the board of supervisors minutes.
The obstruction of an official proceeding charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The longest sentence for a Jan. 6 rioter has been 10 years in federal prison.
Attempts to reach Fischer's attorney, assistant federal public defender Eugene Ohm, were not returned as of Thursday.
Fischer can still appeal the three-judge panel decision. No official trial date has been set for his case as of Thursday.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Court upholds charge for former N. Cornwall cop's role in Jan. 6 riot
