(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Capitol Hill protestors who were completely peaceful on Jan. 6, 2021, are still being charged with disorderly conduct—and a recent court ruling ensures that those charges will stick.
Indeed, the US Court of Appeals in DC upheld on Friday a disorderly conduct charge against Jan. 6 protestor Russell Alford, who was sentenced to a year imprisonment over his participation in the Capitol Hill event.
The appeals court found that during Alford’s brief time within the Capitol, he was neither violent nor destructive.
“Nevertheless, we affirm his convictions because a jury could rationally find that his unauthorized presence in the Capitol as part of an unruly mob contributed to the disruption of the Congress’s electoral certification and jeopardized public safety,” the appeals court ruled, also affirming Alford’s sentence.
“[I]t is equally clear from caselaw that even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly,” the court added.
According to court records, Alford reached the Capitol building around 2 p.m. on Jan. 6. He allegedly climbed the steps as other rioters knocked on Upper House Door to attract the attention of rioters already inside the building, who then threw open one of the double doors.
Alford then entered the building and remained inside the Capitol for approximately thirteen minutes.
“While inside, he mostly stood to the side and observed. He filmed protestors chanting ‘stop the steal’ and pounding on a door that led to the floor of the House,” Friday’s court ruling said.
The court’s ruling comes at same time as the Justice Department promises to potentially charge thousands of more protestors simply for being on Capitol grounds.
“We have used our prosecutorial discretion to primarily focus on those who entered the building or those who engaged in violent or corrupt conduct on Capitol grounds. But if a person knowingly entered the restricted area without authorization, they had already committed a federal crime,” US Attorney Matthew Graves said Saturday.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
