CNN —
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a Cowboys for Trump founder who entered a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying rioters were protected by the Secret Service at the time. He said he didn’t need to know what was going on. Vice President Mike Pence was inside when they breached the area.
The case is one of the few to test the basic approach taken by the Justice Department to prosecute hundreds of rioters at the U.S. Capitol, according to officials handling the case filed in Washington, D.C., federal court. The verdict has been long awaited since it was argued in December last year.
It would also strengthen the federal protections the Secret Service can provide by more clearly defining the laws regarding intrusion into protected areas by public officials.
“The basis for the Secret Service’s authority to prevent access to designated areas for the safety of protected persons need not have the intruder in mind,” D.C. Circuit Judge Nina Pillard wrote in an opinion Tuesday. mentioned in.
An unsuccessful challenge to the law was brought by Qui Griffin, a local government official in New Mexico who organized a group called the Cowboys for Trump, who jumped over a stone wall outside the Capitol. and stepped onto the stage for the inauguration ceremony. Griffin was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges, including trespassing, and sentenced to 14 days in jail and one year of supervised release.
“In[Griffin’s]view, the law did not allow Mr. Griffin to enter or remain on Capitol grounds without knowing why the Capitol grounds were so restricted. We also require evidence that a Secret Service-protected person has temporarily visited or plans to visit Capitol grounds. ” Pillard wrote in a 2-1 opinion. “Griffin’s approach will certainly hamper the Secret Service’s ability to respond to any type of potential threat.”
Griffin may continue to fight his trespass charges with further appeals, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has expressed interest in reinterpreting the laws surrounding the Capitol riot.
Griffin previously asked the Supreme Court to hear another legal challenge he filed on Jan. 6 after he was voted out of office. A judge removed Mr. Griffin from his job as a county commissioner in New Mexico, but the high court declined to hear Mr. Griffin’s case for reinstatement.
Griffin’s federal public defender attorney did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The three-judge panel had one dissenter, Judge Greg Katsas, who was appointed by President Trump. Justice Judith Rogers, a Clinton appointee, sided with Pillard, an Obama appointee, in the majority opinion.
In his dissent, Katsas said that in addition to proving that Griffin knew he was trespassing, prosecutors must also demonstrate the significance of the protected area that Griffin is trespassing. He said he believed he needed to prove that he knew and that Mr. Pence could be there.
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“It goes without saying that trespassing that threatens the life or safety of the President or Vice President involves simply intentionally entering an area that is “established, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted.” This is a much more serious crime than simple trespassing,” Katsas wrote. .
“A trespasser who does not know that someone like the president or vice president is present is likely to pose a greater threat to officials than an individual who intentionally enters areas that are restricted to protect them. is much lower,” the judge added.
Of the 470 trespassing convictions secured by prosecutors for the Jan. 6 rioters, Katsas said, the trial judge in Washington, D.C., has determined how much of Pence’s presence at the Capitol the rioters had. He pointed out that there were differing opinions on whether he knew.
