A federal judge has ordered the release of a defendant convicted in the January 6 Capitol attack due to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that federal felony “obstruction of an official proceeding” charges are only valid if the government can prove that a defendant “impaired the availability or integrity” of documents or records rather than merely obstructing an official proceeding.
Prosecutors had used the charge against hundreds of January 6 defendants under the assumption that it pertained to obstructing an official proceeding like the January 6, 2021, joint session of Congress, which was stormed by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters in an ill-fated effort to overturn his 2020 election loss.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the release of defendant Patrick Stedman, who was convicted of the felony obstruction charge and four additional misdemeanor counts last year. Howell cited the Supreme Court decision in her ruling, which granted Stedman’s motion for release pending appeal.
Stedman will not be released until October 27 because he is still serving a mandatory 12-month sentence from his misdemeanor convictions, on which the Supreme Court ruling had no impact. Stedman had demanded his “immediate conditional release pending appeal.”
Newsweek reached out to Stedman’s lawyer via online contact form for comment on Wednesday evening.
Howell originally sentenced Stedman, a self-proclaimed “dating and relationship coach for men” and expert in “female psychology,” to a total of 48 months in prison based on the felony conviction. The defendant surrendered to federal prison officials on October 27, 2023.
Jon Cherry
Stedman’s misdemeanor convictions include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing inside a Capitol building.
While granting his release, Howell argued that Stedman’s “continued engagement with and propagation of disinformation while incarcerated certainly shows his continued lack of remorse for his egregious criminal conduct,” pointing out that the defendant has continued to push false “stolen” election claims online.
“Defendant may spew this nonsense to retain, attract and grow his online following to make money and increase his popularity, or this may reflect his actual beliefs,” Howell wrote.
“No matter whether defendant is a charlatan or gravely misguided, this commentary confirms a distorted view of reality that dangerously fueled his and others’ offense conduct at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” she added.
According to the Department of Justice, Stedman’s actions on January 6 included entering the Capitol as part of a “first wave” of Trump supporters who “broke down the doors.” He allegedly shouted “storming the Capitol” as he entered the building before going on to enter the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In a video recorded for followers after the attack, Stedman boasted that “patriots” had stolen hard drives from the building and warned that “the storm is here,” a reference to the false QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that Trump is secretly fighting a war against a cabal of blood-drinking Democrats running a child sex trafficking ring.
