Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in jail for his position within the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Rhodes, 58, is the primary individual charged within the Jan. 6, 2021, assault to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his sentence is the longest handed down to this point within the a whole bunch of Capitol riot instances.
It’s one other milestone for the Justice Division’s sprawling Jan. 6 investigation, which has led to seditious conspiracy convictions towards the highest leaders of two far-right extremist teams authorities say got here to Washington ready to combat to maintain President Donald Trump in energy in any respect prices.
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In a primary for an revolt case, the decide agreed to use enhancement penalties for “terrorism.” That call might foreshadow prolonged sentences down the street for different far-right leaders which were convicted, together with former Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio.
Earlier than asserting Rhodes’ sentence, U.S. District Choose Amit Mehta described a defiant Rhodes as a continued menace to the USA who clearly “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence.” Mehta expressed worry that what occurred on Jan. 6 could possibly be repeated, saying People will “now hold our collective breaths every time an election is approaching.”
“The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government,” Mehta advised Rhodes.
Rhodes didn’t use the prospect to precise regret or enchantment for leniency, however as an alternative claimed to be a “political prisoner,” criticized prosecutors and the Biden administration and tried to minimize his actions on Jan. 6.
“I’m a political prisoner and like President Trump my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” Rhodes advised Mehta.
It was one of the vital consequential instances introduced by the federal government, which has sought to show that the riot by right-wing teams such because the Oath Keepers was not a spur-of-the-moment protest however the end result of weeks of plotting to overturn Biden’s victory.
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Prosecutors had urged 25 years for Rhodes. They mentioned he was the architect of a plot to forcibly disrupt the switch of presidential energy that included “quick reaction force” groups at a Virginia resort to ferry weapons into the nation’s capital in the event that they have been wanted. The weapons have been by no means deployed.
The decide agreed to the division’s request for the “terrorism enhancement” underneath the argument that the Oath Keepers sought to affect the federal government via “intimidation or coercion.” Judges had beforehand rejected such requests in Jan. 6 instances, however Rhodes’ was in contrast to any others to this point which have reached sentencing.
Prosecutors argued {that a} prolonged sentence was mandatory to discourage future political violence.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Kathryn Rakoczy pointed to interviews and speeches Rhodes has given from jail claiming that the 2020 election was stolen and saying it might be once more in 2024. In remarks simply days in the past, Rhodes known as for “regime change,” the prosecutor mentioned.
Rhodes, of Granbury Texas, plans to enchantment his conviction.
Protection lawyer Phillip Linder advised the decide that prosecutors have been unfairly attempting to make Rhodes “the face” of Jan. 6, including that Rhodes might have had many extra Oath Keepers come to the Capitol “if he really wanted to” disrupt Congress’ certification of the Electoral School vote.
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“If you want to put a face on J6 (Jan. 6), you put it on Trump, right-wing media, politicians, all the people who spun that narrative,” Linder mentioned.
One other Oath Keeper convicted alongside Rhodes in November — Florida chapter chief Kelly Meggs — was anticipated to obtain his sentence later Thursday. Extra Oath Keepers are anticipated to be sentenced on Friday and subsequent week.
The convictions have been a significant blow for the Oath Keepers, which Rhodes based in 2009 and grew into one of many nation’s largest anti-government militia teams.
Rhodes’ sentence could sign what prosecutors will search for Tarrio and different Proud Boys leaders additionally convicted of seditious conspiracy. They are going to be sentenced in August and September.
The Oath Keepers mentioned there was by no means any plan to assault the Capitol or cease Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. The protection tried to grab on the truth that not one of the Oath Keepers’ messages laid out an express plan to storm the Capitol. However prosecutors mentioned the Oath Keepers noticed a possibility to additional their aim to cease the switch of energy and sprang into motion when the mob started storming the constructing.
Messages, recordings, and different proof offered at trial present Rhodes and his followers rising more and more enraged after the 2020 election on the prospect of a Biden presidency, which they seen as a menace to the nation and their lifestyle. In an encrypted chat two days after the election, Rhodes advised his followers to organize their “mind, body, spirit” for “civil war.”
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In convention name days later, Rhodes urged his followers to let Trump know they have been “willing to die” for the nation. One Oath Keeper turned imformant started recording the decision and contacted the FBI, telling jurors “it sounded like we were going to war against the United States government.”
One other informant testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to influence him to go alongside a message to Trump that urged the president not to surrender his combat to carry onto energy. The middleman, who advised jurors he had an oblique strategy to attain the president, recorded his assembly with Rhodes and went to the FBI as an alternative of giving the message to Trump. Rhodes advised the person throughout that assembly that the Oath Keepers “should have brought rifles” on Jan. 6.
Earlier than Thursday, the longest sentence within the greater than 1,000 Capitol riot instances was 14 years for a person with an extended felony report who attacked law enforcement officials with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol. Simply over 500 of the defendants have been sentenced, with greater than half receiving jail time and the rest getting sentences resembling probation or dwelling detention.
The Related Press contributed to this text
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