Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 case
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the far-right extremist group바카라 게임 웹사이트s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at all costs. Rhodes was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges.
Using dozens of encrypted messages, recordings and surveillance video, prosecutors made the case that Rhodes began shortly after the 2020 election to prepare an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power.
Over seven weeks of testimony, jurors heard how Rhodes rallied his followers to fight to defend Trump, discussed the prospect of a 바카라 게임 웹사이트bloody바카라 게임 웹사이트 civil war and warned the Oath Keepers may have to 바카라 게임 웹사이트rise up in insurrection바카라 게임 웹사이트 to defeat Biden if Trump didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t act.
One of Rhodes' co-defendants 바카라 게임 웹사이트 Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers 바카라 게임 웹사이트 was also convicted of the sedition charge, while three other co-defendants were cleared of the charge. Jurors found all five defendants guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding: Congress' certification of Biden's electoral victory.
Rhodes and Meggs are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty of the rarely used Civil War-era charge at trial. The trial was the biggest test yet for the Justice Department in its efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the attack that shook the foundations of American democracy.
Seditious conspiracy calls for up to 20 years behind bars.
On trial alongside Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, and Meggs, were Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group.
Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of twisting their clients' words and insisted the Oath Keepers came to Washington only to provide security for figures such as Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally. The defense focused heavily on seeking to show that Rhodes바카라 게임 웹사이트 rhetoric was just bluster and that the Oath Keepers had no plan before Jan. 6 to attack the Capitol.
Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the mob and storm the Capitol and said he was upset after he found out that some did. Rhodes said they were acting 바카라 게임 웹사이트stupid바카라 게임 웹사이트 and outside their mission for the day.
Prosecutors said the Oath Keepers saw an opportunity to advance their plot to stop the transfer of power and sprang into action when the mob started storming the Capitol. The Capitol attack was a 바카라 게임 웹사이트means to an end바카라 게임 웹사이트 for the Oath Keepers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy told jurors in her closing argument.
Jurors heard how Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on an AR-platform rifle, magazines, mounts, sights and other equipment on his way to Washington ahead of the riot. They watched surveillance footage from the Virginia hotel where some Oath Keepers stashed weapons for 바카라 게임 웹사이트quick reaction force바카라 게임 웹사이트 teams prosecutors said were ready to get weapons into the city quickly if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed.
On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing combat gear were seen on camera shouldering their way through the crowd and into the Capitol. Rhodes remained outside like a 바카라 게임 웹사이트general surveying his troops on the battlefield,바카라 게임 웹사이트 a prosecutor said. After the riot, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers went to an Olive Garden restaurant to celebrate, according to prosecutors.
The trial revealed new details about Rhodes바카라 게임 웹사이트 efforts to pressure Trump to fight to stay in the White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. Shortly after the election, in a group chat that included Stone called 바카라 게임 웹사이트FOS바카라 게임 웹사이트 or 바카라 게임 웹사이트Friends of Stone,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Rhodes wrote, 바카라 게임 웹사이트So will you step up and push Trump to FINALLY take decisive action?바카라 게임 웹사이트
Another man testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to persuade him to pass along a message to Trump that urged the president not to give up his fight to hold onto power. The intermediary 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a man who told jurors he had an indirect way to reach the president 바카라 게임 웹사이트 recorded his meeting with Rhodes and went to the FBI instead of giving the message to Trump.
바카라 게임 웹사이트If he바카라 게임 웹사이트s not going to do the right thing and he바카라 게임 웹사이트s just gonna let himself be removed illegally then we should have brought rifles,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Rhodes said during that meeting, according to a recording played for jurors. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We should have fixed it right then and there. I바카라 게임 웹사이트d hang (expletive) Pelosi from the lamppost,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Rhodes said, referring to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Three other Oath Keepers previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. The last time the Justice Department had secured such a conviction at trial, though, was in the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks.