Topline
Stewart Rhodes — leader of the anti-government Oath Keepers — was charged Thursday with seditious conspiracy stemming from the Capitol riot, one of the highest-profile arrests in the Department of Justice’s massive year-long investigation into the attack.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 28, 2021.
Key Facts
Federal authorities arrested 56-year-old Rhodes in Texas on Thursday and charged him and 10 other people — nine of whom had previously been arrested on other charges — with seditious conspiracy and other offenses, according to a DOJ press release.
It appears to be the first time the DOJ has filed seditious conspiracy charges against defendants in the Capitol riot probe, threatening Rhodes and the 10 alleged co-conspirators with up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
In an indictment released Thursday, prosecutors accuse Rhodes and the 10 other defendants of plotting to “oppose by force the lawful transfer of power” on January 6, 2021, when Congress gathered to sign off on President Joe Biden’s election win.
The DOJ alleges the defendants planned in advance to travel to the D.C. area with weapons, and two separate groups of Oath Keeper affiliates stormed the Capitol in “stack” formations before ultimately breaching the building, while members of a “quick reaction force” waited outside Washington to support the teams at the Capitol.
The indictment says Rhodes entered a “restricted area of the Capitol grounds” on January 6, but the DOJ doesn’t allege he walked into the Capitol building itself, and Rhodes has previously denied entering the Capitol.
Forbes has reached out to Rhodes’ attorney for comment.
Key Background
An Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate, Rhodes founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The far-right group — which prosecutors describe as a loosely organized nationwide militia movement — casts itself as a coalition of law enforcement personnel and military veterans dedicated to fighting back against perceived federal tyranny. Members of the Oath Keepers backed former President Donald Trump and endorsed his false voter fraud claims after the 2020 election, and some Oath Keepers were spotted providing security to Trump advisor Roger Stone on the day of the Capitol attack. Prosecutors have arrested dozens of Oath Keepers and members of other right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters for allegedly participating in last year’s Capitol riot, in some cases filing conspiracy charges. Rhodes hadn’t faced charges before Thursday, though the DOJ alluded to him in court documents.
Tangent
The DOJ has charged more than 700 people with Capitol riot-related offenses, marking one of the largest criminal investigations in federal history. Some defendants have already pleaded guilty to smaller offenses like parading in the Capitol, resulting in sentences of probation, but dozens still face more significant charges like assaulting police or conspiracy.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/01/13/seditious-conspiracy-doj-charges-oath-keepers-leader-10-others-in-latest-jan-6-case/