Founder of Oath Keepers Stuart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges related to his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Rhodes and four co-defendants – Jessica Watkins, Thomas Caldwell, Kelly Maggs and Ken Harrelson – were convicted by a jury in Washington, DC. Maggs was the only other defendant found guilty of the seditious conspiracy.

Prosecutors have named the oath-keepers as the masterminds behind a mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, killing several and injuring more than 100 law enforcement officers.

Oath Keepers, a far-right militant group, seeks to defend its interpretation of the U.S. Constitution against perceived enemies — by force if necessary, according to Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“When all else fails, when the government fails you, when there’s no one left to protect you, the Oath Keepers are there” — that was really their propaganda, their message, John Lewis, Research Fellow at the Program. on extremism at George Washington University told USA TODAY.

But police have maintained throughout the trial that there was no plan to storm the building that day, suggesting the government mischaracterized them during the lengthy trial.

So far, the Justice Department hasn’t heard a case of sedition — defined as violent opposition to the United States government — in a decade.

Two oath-keepers convicted of sedition may serve as a warning to government dissenters that violent actions against the United States will be punished. But the acquittal of three other defendants could undermine the Justice Department’s narrative that the events of Jan. 6 endangered democracy — and embolden the militia movement.

Court of Oath Keepers:What we know about the trial of the Oath Keepers begins with the opening statement

Final word:‘Why distance yourself from the truth?’: Oath keepers’ words used against them in government closing argument

The last time the government issued a conviction was in the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who were planning to bomb New York City landmarks.

“Today, the jury returned a verdict finding all defendants guilty of criminal conduct, including the two leaders of the Oath Keepers, of seditious conspiracy against the United States,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an emailed statement. “The Ministry of Justice seeks to bring to justice those responsible for the attack on our democracy on January 6, 2021.”

Here is how each defendant was sentenced on each count:

  • Stuart Rhodes: guilty of seditious conspiracy, not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official hearing, not guilty of obstructing an official hearing, not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an officer in the performance of any duty and guilty of tampering with an hearing and aiding and abetting.
  • Jessica Watkins: Not guilty of seditious conspiracy, guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting, guilty of conspiracy to obstruct a public official, innocent of destruction of public property and guilty of mass disturbances and assistance.
  • Thomas Caldwell: Not guilty of seditious conspiracy, not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, not guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an office in the performance of any duty, and guilty of rigging a proceeding and aiding and abetting.
  • Kelly Maggs: Guilty of seditious conspiracy, guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an officer in the performance of any duty, not guilty of destruction of government property and interference with proceedings and aiding and abetting.
  • Ken Harrelson: Not guilty of seditious conspiracy, not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an officer, not guilty of destruction of property and interference with investigation and aiding and abetting.

The trial of the Oath Keepers is the most high-profile case against those involved in the Capitol riot.

James Bright, Rhodes’ attorney, told reporters after the sentencing that he believed his client’s trial was fair, but believed a different verdict could have been handed down in another jurisdiction. The defense tried several times to move the trial out of D.C. before it began.

In the government’s closing argument, which lasted two and a half hours, the prosecutor’s office focused on the most serious charge brought by the oath-keeper at trial — seditious conspiracy.

“The evidence showed that the defendants agreed to stop the transfer of presidential power by any means necessary,” Assistant US Attorney Catherine Rakozzi said Friday. “It’s a conspiracy.”

Prosecutors also allege that Rhodes, who founded the group, was “the mastermind of this conspiracy and the architect of the plan,” citing evidence presented during the trial that Rhodes coordinated oath keepers in several states to gather at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Court of Oath Keepers:Encrypted Messages, Secret Record: During the first week of the Oath Keepers trial

For nearly three weeks, attorneys for the defendants made their case, seeking to humanize the Oath Keepers, pointing to age-related ailments, an aversion to social media and gender identity as evidence that they are not as dangerous or calculating as the government has made them out to be.

Rhodes, the leader of the group, took a stand in defense of self and the wider group. In his testimony, Rhodes He argued that the oath-keepers who entered the Capitol on January 6 went “beyond the mission.”

“Going into the Capitol was not part of our mission that day for any reason,” Rhodes testified during the trial.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that just days after the attack on the Capitol of Rhodes tried to send a message to former President Donald Trump via Jason Alpers, a military veteran who revealed he had indirect access to Trump’s inner circle.

In the message, Rhodes called on the president to invoke the Sedition Act and become the “savior” of the republic. Alpers told jurors he did not deliver the message to Trump.

James Bright, Rhodes’ attorney, argued during his closing argument that all 50-plus witnesses called during the trial could not clearly say there was an apparent plan to storm the Capitol or stop vote certification.

“None of the testimony that (the government) reviewed showed any real plan,” said James Bright, Rhodes’ attorney.

Two other defendants, Virginia resident Thomas Caldwell and Ohio resident Jessica Watkins, also took the stand.

Caldwell told jurors about his physical ailments, his military service and his perceived distance from the Oath Keepers. He is the only person involved in the case who was not part of the police force.

In an emotional moment near the end of his testimony, Caldwell broke down on the stand while describing his arrest and suggested he feared his wife would be killed.

Watkins unexpectedly took the stand to express remorse for her involvement in the day’s events and distance herself from the government’s accusation of conspiracy.

“I felt at the time that this was a heroic American moment when ‘We the People’ came into our House and were heard,” Watkins told jurors. “I actually lost all objectivity… I was just another idiot running around the Capitol.”

But when asked directly, she said she was not aware of any plan to overthrow the government.

Attorneys for Rhodes, Maggs, Watkins and Harrelson said they plan to appeal their clients’ convictions, but Watkins’ attorney, Jonathan Crisp, admitted it was likely to be an “appeal nightmare.”

Five other oath keepers and members of the far-right group Proud Boys also face sedition charges, which will be tried in December.

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