![]() Recruiting past and present members of the military and police officers, the group promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny. The convictions were a major blow for the Oath Keepers, which Rhodes founded in 2009 and grew into one of the largest far-right anti-government militia groups. And four other members found guilty of seditious conspiracy at a second trial in January are scheduled to be sentenced next week. Two other Oath Keepers, acquitted of the sedition charge but convicted of other offenses, will be sentenced on Friday. “If you want to put a face on J6 (January 6), you put it on Trump, right-wing media, politicians, all the people who spun that narrative,” Linder said.Īnother Oath Keeper convicted alongside Rhodes in November - Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs - was expected to receive his sentence later Thursday. “Not defendant Rhodes.”Ī lawyer for Rhodes, who plans to appeal his conviction, said prosecutors are unfairly trying to make Rhodes “the face” of January 6.Īttorney Phillip Linder told the judge that Rhodes could have had many more Oath Keepers come to the Capitol “if he really wanted to” disrupt Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote. People “across the political spectrum” want to believe that January 6 was an “outlier,” Rakoczy said. In remarks just days ago, Rhodes called for “regime change”, the prosecutor said. Assistant US Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy pointed to interviews and speeches Rhodes has given from jail repeating the lie 2020 election was stolen and saying it would be again in 2024. Prosecutors argued that a lengthy sentence is necessary to deter future political violence. Judges in previous sentencing had shot down the Justice Department's request for the so-called “terrorism enhancement” - which can lead to a longer prison term - but Mehta said it fits in Rhodes' case. In a first for a January 6 case, US District Judge Amit Mehta agreed with prosecutors to apply enhanced penalties for “terrorism”, under the argument that the Oath Keepers sought to influence the government through “intimidation or coercion”. “I'm a political prisoner and like President Trump my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” Rhodes said. ![]() ![]() In remarks shortly before the judge handed down the sentence, Rhodes slammed the prosecution as politically motivated, noted that he never went inside the Capitol and insisted he never told anyone else to do so. Prosecutors had sought 25 years for Rhodes, who they say was the architect of a plot to forcibly disrupt the transfer of presidential power that included “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel to ferry weapons into DC if they were needed. It was one of the most consequential cases brought by the Justice Department, which has sought to prove that the riot by right-wing extremists like the Oath Keepers was not a spur-of-the-moment protest but the culmination of weeks of plotting to overturn Biden's election victory. “The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government,” US District Judge Amit Mehta said. Before handing down the sentence, the judge told a defiant Rhodes that he is a continued threat to the US, saying it's clear Rhodes “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence”.Īlso Read | Tipu Sultan's Bedchamber Sword Creates New Auction Record in UK Fetches Over GBP 14 Million.
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