Suburban Jan. 6 convictions largely unaffected by Supreme Court ruling

Most, if not all, the individuals from the Chicago suburbs convicted of crimes for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were unaffected by Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that makes it harder to charge some rioters with felonies.

Many of those from the suburbs pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.” The Supreme Court ruling affects those charged with felony obstruction, a law that was enacted after the 2002 Enron financial scandal.

“This doesn’t affect me,” said Bradley Rukstales, an Inverness man who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 30 days in prison. “It’s only for felonies.”

James Robert Elliott, of Batavia; Marcos Gleffe, of Elk Grove Village; Tyng Jing Yang, of Hoffman Estates, and Dawn Frankowski, of Naperville also pleaded guilty to misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6 attack, according to court records.

“I have two other clients from Delaware and Texas, I believe, who will benefit from today’s ruling, but not Mr. Gleffe,” said Robert Jenkins, a Virginia-based defense lawyer who represented Marcos Gleffe. “This was certainly the right decision because the law as it was written was not intended to be used in this manner, and it shows the Department of Justice overstepped its authority by bringing these charges.”

Other individuals who pleaded guilty for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, did not respond to requests for comment or could not be reached.

In all, about 50 people from Illinois were charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to stop the constitutionally required certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti described the Supreme Court's ruling as a carefully written and “measured opinion” which he predicted will “impact only a small handful of defendants.”

The Naperville resident pointed out that while more than 1,400 people were charged with illegal actions that day, only 26 pleaded guilty to this charge.

“It’s an important decision by the Supreme Court,” opined Mariotti, “but the impact on Jan. 6 prosecutions will be minimal.”

∙ Daily Herald staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.