referred to three criminal statutes, including conspiracy to defraud the government and obstruction of an official proceeding.
It was the third criminal law cited in the letter that caught legal analysts by surprise. The charge was under a statute that makes it illegal to deprive citizens of the free exercise of constitutional rights, such as voting. The statute, Title 18, Section 241 of the U.S. Criminal Code, was drafted during Reconstruction to crack down on Whites in the South, including Ku Klux Klan members, from stopping formerly enslaved Black people from voting. A conviction carries up to 10 years in prison.will be charged with violating the law or even that he could face criminal charges.Mr. Yoo said he believes it is the first time the section was used against a federal official.
“It’s typically used against state and local officials and people conspiring with the Ku Klux Klan. It’s a real stretch in this case and reflects uncertainty on the part of the special counsel about the charges they are bringing,” he said. Section 241 makes it a crime for a person to conspire to “injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate” a person exercising “any right or privilege” secured under the Constitution.was widely expected to face either of those charges in the Jan. 6 case, but the target letter does not list either as a possible charge.
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