Top US court makes it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction

The Supreme Court in Washington ruled on the charge of obstruction in relation to the January 6 riot (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

The US Supreme Court on Friday made it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction, a charge that has also been brought against former president Donald Trump.

The justices ruled that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron Corp, must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents.