WASHINGTON: Oathkeepers founder Stuart Rhodes and another right-wing leader were found guilty on Tuesday of conspiracy to attack the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, in a major win for the Justice Department.
The verdicts against Rhodes and four co-defendants came after three days of deliberations by a 12-member jury in the largest trial since the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. There was a failed bid. To reverse then-President Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
Rhodes, a Yale Law School-educated former Army paratrooper and dismembered attorney, is accused by prosecutors of using force during an eight-week trial to prevent Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory over Republican Trump. He was accused of conspiracy. Rhodes was convicted in three cases and acquitted in two.
One of his co-defendants, Kelly Maggs, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit treason while three others – Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell – were acquitted of the charge.
All five defendants were convicted of obstruction of government action — congressional certification of election results — along with mixed verdicts on a handful of other charges.
Charges of conspiracy to commit rebellion and obstructing an official carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years each.
Two more high-profile trials related to the attack are scheduled to begin next month. Four other members of Oathkeepers face charges of conspiracy to subvert, as do members of the right-wing Proud Boys group, including its former chairman Enrique Terrio.
James LeBright, Rhodes’ attorney, said he believes the ruling will inform how the Justice Department moves forward with other conspiracy cases.
“The return to this, even though we’re not happy about it, probably points to the fact that the DOJ is going to proceed in the same fashion as everyone else,” Bright told reporters outside the courthouse.
Rhodes, who wears an eyepatch after accidentally shooting himself in the face with his own gun, is one of the most prominent defendants among nearly 900 people charged in the attack. Maggs, who heads the Florida chapter of Oath Keepers, was the only defendant in the case other than Rhodes who held a leadership role in the organization.
Rhodes founded Oath Keepers in 2009, a militia group whose members include current and retired U.S. military personnel, law enforcement officers and first responders. Its members have shown up, often heavily armed, at protests and political events across the United States to call for racial justice following the killing of George Floyd, a black man by a white Minneapolis police officer. Demonstrations included.
“The Department of Justice is committed to holding criminally responsible for the attack on our democracy on January 6, 2021,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
‘Mixed Bag’
Rhodes’ attorney, Ed Tarpley, called the verdicts “a mixed bag.”
“We are grateful for the not guilty verdict. We are disappointed with the guilty verdicts,” Tarpley told reporters outside court. “No evidence was presented to indicate a plan to attack the Capitol.”
During the trial, prosecutors said Rhodes and his co-defendants planned to use force to prevent Congress from formally certifying Biden’s election victory. Maggs, Watkins and Harrelson all entered the Capitol wearing tactical gear.
The defendants were also accused of creating a “quick reaction force” that prosecutors said was stationed at a nearby hotel in Virginia and armed with firearms that could be quickly flown to Washington.
Fifty witnesses testified during the trial, including Rhodes and two of his co-defendants. He denied planning an attack or preventing Congress from certifying the election results, although Watkins admitted to obstructing police officers from protecting the Capitol.
Rhodes told the jury that he had no plans to storm the Capitol and did not know that some of his fellow Oath Keepers had breached the building until after the riot.
During cross-examination, prosecutors tried to paint Rhodes as a liar, showing him page after page of his inflammatory text messages, videos, photos and audio recordings. In them, Rhodes regretted not bringing rifles to Washington on Jan. 6 and said he could have executed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat reviled by the right wing.
Watkins, a transgender woman who fled the U.S. military after experiencing homophobic slurs, and Caldwell, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran, also chose to testify.
Watkins admitted and apologized for “criminal responsibility” for stopping police officers inside the Capitol. At the same time, Watkins denied having any plans to storm the building, the way excited shoppers do on “Black Friday” when they rush into stores to buy discounted holiday gifts like TVs. are
His lawyer, Jonathan Crisp, told reporters he was “grateful” his client had been acquitted of rebellion.
Caldwell, who like Rhodes never entered the Capitol building and never formally joined the Oath Keepers, tried to downplay some of the inflammatory writing surrounding the attack. Caldwell said some of the lines were drawn from or inspired by movies like “The Princess Bride” and cartoons like Bugs Bunny.
Attorneys for both Harrelson and Rhodes told reporters after the trial that they plan to appeal the convictions.
