United States v. Grider

• Decision Date: 09 February 2022
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No. 21-0022 (CKK)
• Citation: 585 F.Supp.3d 21
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Christopher Ray GRIDER, Defendant
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

585 F.Supp.3d 21

UNITED STATES of America
v.
Christopher Ray GRIDER, Defendant

Criminal Action No. 21-0022 (CKK)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed February 9, 2022

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Candice Chiu Wong, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for United States of America.

Thomas Brent Mayr, Pro Hac Vice, Mayr Law, P.C., Houston, TX, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

This criminal case is one of several hundred arising from the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. For his actions at the Capitol on January 6, Defendant Christopher Ray Grider ("Defendant" or "Grider") is charged by indictment with one felony and six misdemeanor counts. Before the Court is Defendant's [69] Amended Motion to Dismiss Count Four of the Indictment, the sole felony count. Upon consideration of the

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briefing,¹ the relevant legal authorities, and the entire record, the Court shall DENY Defendant's Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant is charged by indictment with: (1) Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1361 - 62 ; (2) Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) ; (3) Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) ; (4) Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) ; (5) Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) ; (6) Impeding Passage Through the Capitol Grounds or Buildings, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(E) ; and (7) Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(F).

A. Certification of the 2020 Presidential Election and Capitol Riot

The Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that, after the members of the Electoral College "meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President," they "shall sign and certify [their votes], and transmit [them] sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate." U.S. Const. amend. XII. The Vice President of the United States, as President of the Senate, must then, "in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates[,], and the votes shall then be counted." To count the votes and "declar[e] the result" of the Electoral College, federal law mandates that "Congress shall be in session on the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the electors" and that "[t]he Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House at the hour of 1 o'clock in the afternoon on that day." 3 U.S.C. §§ 15 - 16.

Pursuant to the Constitution and federal law, Congress convened in a joint session on 1:00 PM on January 6, 2021, to count the votes of the Electoral College and certify the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, which had taken place on November 3, 2020. See Compl., Stmt. of Facts ("SOF") at 1, ECF No. 1-1. With then-Vice President Michael R. Pence presiding, proceedings began and continued until 1:30 PM, when the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate adjourned to separate chambers within the Capitol to debate and consider an objection to the Electoral College vote from the State of Arizona. Id. Vice President Pence continued to preside in the Senate chamber. Id.

Shortly before noon, then-President Donald J. Trump took the stage at a rally of his supporters staged just south of the

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White House. Trump v. Thompson , 20 F.4th 10, 17 (D.C. Cir. 2021). Then-President Trump declared that the election was "rigged" and "stolen," and urged the crowd to "demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated." Id. at 18 (cleaned up). During and after then-President Trump's speech, a mass of attendees marched on the Capitol. See id.

As they gathered outside the Capitol, the crowd faced temporary and permanent barricades and Capitol Police positioned to prevent unauthorized entry to the Capitol. Aff. at ¶ 6. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., "crowd members forced entry into the Capitol building, including by breaking windows and assaulting Capitol Police officers, while others in the crowd encouraged and assisted those acts." Id. These violent acts caused members of the Senate and House of Representatives to evacuate the chambers of the Capitol and suspend the certification process of the presidential election results. Id. at ¶ 7. The violent riot "desecrated [the Capitol], blood was shed, and several individuals lost their lives." Thompson , 20 F.4th at 19. All told, "[t]he events of January 6, 2021 marked the most significant assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812." Id. at 18-19 (footnote omitted).

B. Events Specific to Defendant

Defendant is one of more than 700 individuals charged with federal crimes for his conduct on January 6th. According to the allegations in the Indictment and the Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint, ECF No. 1-1,² Defendant traveled from central Texas to the District of Columbia for then-President Trump's rally. See Aff. at ¶ 10. After the rally, Grider made his way to the Capitol and entered the building with the crowd. Id. at ¶ 13. Once inside, Defendant continued all the way to the doors of the Speaker's Lobby, an area directly outside of and with access to the Floor of the United States House of Representatives. See id. at ¶¶ 10, 15. The photos included in the Affidavit show that only three Capitol police officers, two doors, and stacked furniture separated the mob from Members of Congress huddled behind the doors to the Floor. See id. ¶¶ 11, 15. The photos show Grider at the very front of the mob, "attempt[ing] to push open the doors and then kick the doors in an attempt to breach the entrance leading to the House Chamber." Id. at ¶ 15. The Affidavit also alleges that Grider handed a black helmet to another rioter to assist the rioter in breaking open the windows on the doors. Id. That rioter succeeded and another rioter standing next to Grider jumped through the broken window. Id. As she jumped through the window, she was shot by a Capitol Police officer guarding Members of Congress. Id. at 16. Grider later told a local news station that he was present when that rioter was shot; "[a]t that point we were all panicked, we couldn't leave

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because there were thousands of people behind us pushing us forward." Id. at 10.

C. Procedural History

On January 26, 2021, a grand jury in the District of Columbia returned the seven-count indictment against Defendant. On February 22, 2021, Defendant entered a plea of "not guilty" and the Court released him on personal recognizance with conditions. Defendant filed his initial motion to dismiss Count Four of the Indictment on March 22, 2021. Per Defendant's request, Min. Order (May 4, 2021), the Court held the motion in abeyance until Defendant filed his [69] Amended Motion. With the Motion fully briefed, the Court now turns to its resolution.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3), a criminal defendant may, before trial, move to dismiss a count of the indictment based on a "defect in the indictment." As relevant here, defects include "failure to state an offense." Id. "Failure to state an offense" may be due to a question of statutory interpretation or a constitutional issue. See United States v. Stone , 394 F. Supp. 3d 1, 8 (D.D.C. 2019). When considering a challenge to the indictment, "a district court is limited to reviewing the face of the indictment;" the Court must "presume the allegations [in the] indictment to be true." United States v. Sunia , 643 F. Supp. 2d 51, 60 (D.D.C. 2009) (internal quotation marks removed). "The operative question is whether [those] allegations, if proven, would be sufficient to permit a jury to find that the crimes charged were committed." United States v. Sanford Ltd. , 859 F. Supp. 2d 102, 107 (D.D.C. 2012).

III. DISCUSSION

Count Four of the Indictment charges Defendant with Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). Pursuant to section 1512(c) :

Whoever corruptly—

(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or

(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

Id. (2021 West). In support of dismissal, Defendant advances four broad arguments. First, Defendant maintains that the certification of the vote of the Electoral College is not an...