The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday announced it will take up a major challenge to a felony obstruction statute the Justice Department has used against more than 300 defendants in their investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Any ruling against the use of the “obstruction of an official proceeding” statute would raise the potential that hundreds of cases that federal prosecutors have brought against rioters they accuse of engaging in some of the more serious conduct that threatened the electoral certification on Jan. 6 could be upended.

[I might take a closer look at this later. What’s notable here is that there is no split among appellate circuits to resolve, and the goverment won on this point 2-1 in the DC Circuit. At least four justices seem to think there’s a problem that requires review. — Ed]