Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the far-right group Oath Keepers, a type of ultra-paramilitary militia, was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison, far the highest sentence ever, for the attack on the Capitol. Both he and his 12-year lieutenant, Kelly Meggs, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy and mobilizing supporters of Donald Trump who failed to recognize Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election and attempted to violently prevent the peaceful transition of power and the illegal maintenance of Donald Trump’s power.
In statements made at the hearing before the judge delivered his sentence, Rhodes considered himself a victim and compared himself to Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “I am a political prisoner and like him [ex]president [Donald] Trump, my only crime is defying those who are destroying our country,” he said, according to the AP. Judge Amit Mehta has responded in a very harsh statement: “You are not a political prisoner, you are here because of your actions.” He poses an ongoing threat and danger to this country, the republic and the very fabric of our democracy.” “Once he released, whenever that happens, he will be ready to take up arms against his government,” he added.
The verdict was announced in the Federal Court building in Washington, just a few hundred meters from the Capitol. Judge Amit Mehta has granted prosecutors’ request for increased sentences on “terrorism” charges, arguing that the Oath Keepers attempted to influence the government through “intimidation or coercion”. In previous rulings, the judges had denied the Justice Department’s request.
The highest of the more than 500 convictions so far related to the storming of the Capitol was a 14-year sentence for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and a chair during the storming of the Capitol. There were almost 300 prison sentences and more than 200 sentences of probation or house arrest. Hundreds of cases are still pending.
pending judgments
The jury found Rhodes and Meggs guilty in the first sedition convictions in December last year over the attack on the Capitol. After that, others followed. Four other members of the same group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in January and four members of the Proud Boys were also convicted of seditious conspiracy earlier in the month, including their president Enrique Tarrio.
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The twelve-member jury had deliberated for three days since the end of a process that lasted almost two months. Prosecutors have accused the Oath Keepers leader of being willing to take up arms to keep Trump as President in the most important trial of all trials held to date on the incident, both because of the charges filed and the identity of the judges. . Rhodes entered the restricted area of the Capitol, but not the building. He stayed outside and coordinated activities while many of his group members went into paramilitary formation.
Rhodes and Meggs were also found guilty of obstructing official proceedings and tampering with documents and procedures. Three other members of the Oath Keepers were acquitted of sedition but found guilty of various other offenses including obstruction of official proceedings and tampering with documents and procedures.
Meggs’ sentence of 12 years in prison was announced hours later, while sentences for two other contestants are scheduled for this Friday. There is one other of the five convicted in this case whose sentence is pending pending a possible overturn. Sedition convictions for four other Oath Keepers members convicted in January are scheduled for next week. The sentences for the Proud Boys, who were found guilty of sedition a few weeks ago, will be announced in August or September.
During the trial, the prosecutor argued that the leader of the Oath Keepers and other members of his militia possessed firearms at a Virginia hotel on January 6, 2021 and were prepared to use them. Defendants denied the allegations, but the prosecution produced footage in which Rhodes regretted not bringing his guns to the attack on the Capitol and said he had on the particularly hated House Speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi pull together lamp post. by the ultra right.
After agreeing to travel to Washington via apps using encrypted communications on Jan. 6, the Oath Keepers organized themselves into teams ready and willing to use force and ship firearms and ammunition to Washington, according to the Justice Department.
“civil war”
News, records and other evidence presented during the trial showed that after the 2020 election, Rhodes and his supporters became increasingly angry at the prospect of a Biden presidency, which they saw as a threat to the country and their way of life. In an encrypted chat two days after the election, Rhodes urged his supporters to prepare “mind, body and spirit” for the “civil war.”
In a conference call days later, Rhodes urged his supporters to let Trump know they were “ready to die for the country.” An Oath Keeper who overheard was so alarmed that he began recording the call and contacted the FBI. At trial he stated, “It sounded like we were going to war against the United States government.”
The Oath Boys recruited members and affiliates, organized training sessions to teach and learn paramilitary combat tactics, and brought paramilitary equipment, weapons, and supplies—including knives, batons, camouflage combat uniforms, vests, helmets, eye protection, and headgear—to Capitol Hill. Radio-; stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and attempted to seize control of it in order to prevent, obstruct and delay Electoral College certification of voting.
Rhodes, 58, the son of a Marine, began his career as a paratrooper, earned a honors degree in political science from the University of Nevada and later went on to study law at the elite Yale University. He founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 and organized them as a far-right militia to counter alleged abuses by the federal government following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The presence of their armed members in an intimidating posture became commonplace at political events and demonstrations and their leader, wearing a patch covering the glass eye he has been wearing since he accidentally shot himself in the face with his own gun, became an image the party militia.
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