Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas returned to court on Tuesday for oral arguments after being mysteriously absent from court on Monday.
It comes as the Supreme Court hears arguments on a January 6 case Fischer v the United States.
On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts said Thomas ‘is not on the bench today’ in court but he would ‘participate fully’ in two cases being argued based on the briefs and transcripts.
The Supreme Court did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for additional information on his absence. The court has in the past sometimes said when a justice is out sick but not always.
Thomas returned to the bench in time to hear arguments in a high-stakes case which could lead to some charges against individuals connected to the January 6 attack on the Capitol including Donald Trump being invalidated.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, 75, returned to court Tuesday after being absent on Monday without explanation
The case involves a former Pennsylvania police officer, Joseph Fischer, who was charged with assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct in the Capitol and obstruction of a Congressional proceeding after entering the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Fischer has asked the country’s highest court to throw out the felony obstruction charge, arguing the law he is accused of violating was only intended to apply to evidence tampering not events such as January 6.
He is accused of violating a law enacted in the Sarbane-Oxley Act which was passed in 2002 following the Enron scandal. Violators can face up to 20 years in prison.
It has been used to convict get guilty pleas from more than 150 individuals who participated on January 6.
Former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer brought his case to the Supreme Court after participating on January 6. Fischer wants obstruction charge against him to be invalidated. The case could have an impact on individuals charged in connection to January 6 attack including Donald Trump
Pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol and clashed with police during a rally on January 6, 2021
Thomas not only returned to the court on Tuesday after his unexplained absence but also asked the first question during arguments for the case.
Some critics suggested Thomas should have recused himself from January 6 cases due to his wife Ginni Thomas’ role behind the scenes in the ‘Stop the Steel’ effort. Ginni Thomas was at the rally on January 6 but did not enter the Capitol.
Justice Thomas is one of nine on the Supreme Court which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority
Justice Thomas, 75, is one of nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and has served on the country’s highest court since 1991, making him currently the longest serving justice on the court.
While his one-day absence on Monday went unexplained, Thomas was hospitalized two years ago with an infection which caused him to miss several court sessions then too.
The Supreme Court has a conservative 6-3 majority.