Fact Sheet: Fischer v. United States

            The following data points are made available in order to provide context with respect to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Fischer v. United States.

• The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has charged roughly 1,427 individuals with federal crimes arising from alleged criminal conduct committed at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. In more than 82 percent of those cases—involving approximately 1,178 individuals—the defendants were either never charged with or not convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2), the statute at issue in Fischer.  Today’s decision has no bearing on those cases.
• Of the approximately 249 remaining cases, there are zero cases where a defendant was charged only with 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). In other words, in every case potentially impacted by the Fischer decision, the defendant faced other criminal charges—felonies, misdemeanors, or both—for illegal conduct related to the Capitol Breach.
• Today’s decision will most significantly impact a narrow band of cases: those where the only felony for which a defendant was convicted and sentenced was 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2).  In total, approximately 52 individuals have been convicted and sentenced on that charge and no other felony; of those individuals, only 27 are currently serving a sentence of incarceration—less than 2 percent of all charged cases arising from the Capitol Breach.   

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