Derek Kinnison, convicted of obstruction in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, is serving two years and nine months in a federal prison in Victorville. But he hopes to get out sooner — much sooner — after the U.
S. Supreme Court decision Friday, June 28, limiting how prosecutors can use the federal obstruction law against the rioters. Kinnison, a Lake Elsinore resident, is among 350 people nationwide charged under the law in the 2021 siege.
Overall, more than 1,300 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 breach, according to the U.S.
Department of Justice. Related: Supreme Court makes it harder to charge Jan. 6 defendants — and Trump — with obstruction “I expect his sentence to be reduced by about two-thirds,” said Kinnison’s attorney, Nicolai Cocis.
“To those who were charged, it is a big deal. (The ruling) overturns one of the more serious charges.” The maximum prison sentence under the obstruction statute is 20 years.
In addition to the obstruction conviction, Kinnison also was found guilty of felony tampering with documents or proceedings for erasing social media chats from his phone to hide them from a grand jury investigation. He also was convicted of misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining on restricted grounds and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds. Kinnison, 42, was not accused of entering the building.
Convicted with Kinnison after a 17-day trial in Washington, D.C., were Erik Scott Warner, 48, of Menifee; Feli.
