Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the US militia group Oath Keepers, was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday of “incendiary conspiracy” for the attack on the US Capitol last January. The attackers, supporters of former President Donald Trump, hoped at the time to block the ratification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Rhodes could face up to 20 years in prison.
Rhodes is one of the most prominent suspects in the list of about 900 people charged so far in connection with the storming of the Capitol. The building was significantly damaged and several people were killed. Although he did not enter the building himself, he made sure that armed members of his organization were on site. Nor did he stop them when the Capitol was stormed.
Rhodes’ four co-defendants in the trial were Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell. Of those four, only Meggs was found guilty of sedition. A judge has yet to determine Rhodes and Meggs’ sentences.
The defendants were charged with setting up a “rapid reaction force” after the election results, which prosecutors say was positioned in Virginia and equipped with firearms. They could easily and quickly travel from nearby Virginia to Washington DC, where the Capitol is located. The Oath Keepers funded their presence near the capital through crowdfunding.
Rhodes, a former army parachutist and Yale Law School-educated but now disbarred attorney, founded the far-right Oath Keepers in 2009 after Barack Obama was elected president. The militia group is made up of current and former U.S. military, law enforcement, and first responders. The oath (‘oath’) sworn by members is to protect the US Constitution. Its members often appear heavily armed at protests and political events.
Rhodes was convinced after the 2020 election that Democrat Joe Biden, who had defeated Republican Trump, was being controlled by China. He also called on Trump through open letters on his website to confiscate voting machines in order to prove that large-scale election fraud had been committed. According to The New York Times Rhodes was afraid that the progressive left in the US would hold sway and that the US would go under.
Four other Oath Keepers members charged with seditious conspiracy will appear in court in December. Members of another right-wing group called the Proud Boys, including former chairman Enrique Tarrio, will also stand trial in December on seditious conspiracy charges.
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