By Alanna Durkin Richer -
The Associated Press
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ordered a review of the sentence of a retired Air Force officer who participated in the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 while dressed in combat gear, in a ruling issued on Friday that It could affect dozens of other cases arising from this assault.
Although a panel of judges upheld Larry Brock's conviction, they did state that the court that sentenced him erroneously applied an increasing circumstance that lengthened the prison sentence range recommended by federal guidelines.
This increase, based on the fact that Brock's conduct amounted to a "substantial interference with the administration of justice," has been applied
in more than 100 cases of other accused
of the assault, said Patricia Hartman, spokeswoman for the Washington DC District Attorney's Office.
Thus, if the sentence becomes final, defendants who have not yet completed their prison sentences may request a review.
This Senate television video image shows Larry Rendall Brock (R) on the Senate floor at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. AP
Asked if the Prosecutor's Office will appeal the sentence, Hartman said he is considering his options.
Brock's attorney did not respond Friday to an email providing comment.
Brock was sentenced last year to two years in prison after being convicted of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and lesser charges.
He is currently serving his sentence at a federal prison facility in Missouri and is expected to be released in December, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
The obstruction charge is already at the center of another case on which the Supreme Court will hear arguments next month and which could upend hundreds of Capitol riot cases.
The judges agreed to hear an appeal filed by lawyers for another man accused of obstruction of an official proceeding, one of the charges most frequently used in the Jan. 6 attack.
In the Brock case, the court said that the aforementioned “administration of justice” circumstance applies to judicial proceedings but does not extend to interfering in the certification of the electoral vote.
That's what Congress was meeting to do on January 6 when violent supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to prevent the will of the people from being carried out in the November 2020 election.
“Brock's interference in one stage of the Electoral College vote counting process—while undoubtedly jeopardizing our democratic processes and temporarily disrupting the constitutional work of Congress—did not interfere with the 'administration of justice,'” the panel wrote. three judges.
It is unclear to what extent Brock's — or other defendants' — sentences could be reduced in a new sentencing.
With the sentencing increase, the range in Brock's case under federal guidelines was 24 to 30 months.
District Judge John Bates sentenced Brock to the lowest sentence of those guidelines, which only serve as a guide to judges when considering sentences and are not mandatory.
[Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, receives a sentence of 22 years in prison for the assault on the Capitol]
Brock's attorney has said in court papers that the erroneous application of the increase likely increased his client's sentence by about nine months.
Prosecutors
had recommended a sentence of five years in prison.
Brock, of Grapevine, Texas, was wearing a helmet and tactical vest when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and entered the Senate chamber just minutes after Vice President Mike Pence, senators and his staff They will evacuate the Upper House.
Brock grabbed a pair of discarded handcuffs and was photographed in a widely shared image holding them on the floor of the compound.
His attorney indicated in court documents that Brock did not use the handcuffs to do any harm.