J6er John Strand freed from detention after SCOTUS ruling

John Strand, who was sentenced to 32 months in prison for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol incident, has been released following a Supreme Court ruling. Strand expressed his gratitude, saying he was “tremendously grateful to God” and described his year in prison as “hell on earth.” 

Strand was convicted on four misdemeanors and a felony charge of “corruptly obstructing” an official proceeding by being at the Capitol on January 6. He was released on July 24 due to the Supreme Court's decision last month that dismissed the obstruction charge for the January 6 participants. The Supreme Court ruling in Fischer v. United States favored a January 6 protester who was charged with obstructing an official proceeding. 

Approximately 350 other individuals were charged under the same law, and this case set a precedent for their cases. The law had been enacted after the Enron accounting scandal to prevent destruction of records and the Court ruled that it was not applicable to the cases of the Capitol protesters. The Court found that the charge only applies if defendants "impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so." 

Following the ruling, Strand petitioned for his release in 2024, and a judge ordered his release on July 24. In an interview with The Blaze, Strand described his prison experience as something "you would not wish on your worst enemy." 

"I learned a lot, and God did a lot of great things," Strand said. "But it was terrible, so I was glad to get out of there, that’s for sure." Strand also reported being placed in solitary confinement twice during his incarceration. "I was abused and — in a manner of speaking — tortured for a period of four months," Strand said. "Blocked from access to my attorneys. Blocked from access to any information about what was going on and why it was happening to me."