'Passive' J6 Protesters Can Be Convicted of 'Disorderly Conduct,' Appeals Court Rules

Rioters who were passive during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, can be convicted of disorderly conduct, a federal court ruled Friday.

The case focused on a rioter, Russell Alford, who received a year-long sentence for his "role" in the insurrection. He was attempting to challenge "the reasonableness of his sentence and the sufficiency of the evidence to support two of his convictions, both of which charged him with engaging in 'disorderly or disruptive conduct.'"

"The trial evidence indicated that, during Alford's brief time within the Capitol, he was neither violent nor destructive," D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson wrote in a Friday filing. "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 ruling came down a day before the third anniversary of the Capitol riot. Over 1,200 people have faced federal crime charges over the insurrection.

"[I]t is equally clear from caselaw that even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly," the Friday filing read.