Two defendants in the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy trial filed a motion in federal court to dismiss obstruction-related charges in light of a fractured U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on the law used to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants.
On April 8, attorneys for defendants Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean filed motions with U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, saying that the April 7 appeals court ruling requires a narrow definition of the term “corruptly” that must apply to the Proud Boys case or the obstruction charges should be dropped.
Confusion arose after issuance of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s ruling on § 1512(c)(2), a criminal statute defining obstruction of an official proceeding—the most frequently charged felony in Jan. 6 cases….