Oath Keepers: Two far-right militia members charged with US treason

• After a two-month trial, a jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of the unusual charge of seditious conspiracy.
• Prosecutors claim that he planned an armed uprising to prevent the handover of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
• He was on trial alongside four other people for the Capitol riots in 2021.

In an effort to prevent US Vice President Joe Biden from entering office following the 2020 election, the leader of a far-right militia was found guilty of planning the crime.

After a two-month trial, a jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of the unusual charge of seditious conspiracy.

Prosecutors claim that he planned an armed uprising to prevent the handover of authority from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

He was on trial alongside four other people for the Capitol riots in 2021.

Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs, and Kenneth Harrelson were three of the group who entered the structure during the assault.

On Tuesday, Meggs was also determined to have engaged in seditious conspiracy. The charges against Rhodes and Meggs carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Thomas Caldwell, a fifth participant, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy, along with Harrelson and Watkins.

The group’s five members were all held responsible for obstructing an official investigation.

Rhodes was also found guilty of interfering with records or procedures. According to the prosecution, Rhodes served as a “battlefield general” throughout the disturbances. He was cleared of two further conspiracy charges.

The jury deliberated for three whole days before reaching its decision.

Following the verdict, Rhodes’ attorneys expressed their displeasure with the outcome but acknowledged that the prosecution had not won handily either.

It’s a mixed bag, said attorney Edward Tarpley, who also expressed gratitude that the jury acquitted the defendants on several counts.

The convictions will be challenged, they say.

This was the first seditious conspiracy conviction in the US since 1995, when ten Islamist extremists were found guilty of attempting to detonate bombs near famous sites in New York City.

To prevent citizens of the southern states from rebelling against the US government, the Civil War-era charge was initially put into effect.

Prosecutors must show that two or more individuals plotted to “overthrow, put down, or destroy by force” the US government or that they intended to use force to challenge US authority in order to secure a conviction for seditious conspiracy.

The conviction of Rhodes, according to University of Minnesota law professor and former US Department of Justice attorney Alan Rozenshtein, is significant because it demonstrates that a charge of seditious conspiracy is “a viable and legal path for punishing the most serious anti-democratic conduct” in the nation.

The jury’s ability to responsibly implement the conviction is demonstrated by the mixed result, he continued.

According to Mr. Rozenshtein, the decision gives the justice department more confidence to bring more cases against those responsible for the Capitol Riots.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of Republican then-President Donald Trump stormed Congress in an effort to prevent the declaration of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

Approximately 900 people have been detained for participating in the riot so far, almost all of them in all 50 states.

Successful seditious conspiracy convictions also followed another infamous attack of the US Capitol.

Four nationalists from the US territory of Puerto Rico opened fire on the House of Representatives’ floor in 1954, injuring a number of members.

The assailants and over a dozen other gang members were found guilty of sedition.

The court heard evidence during the Oath Keepers trial that the defendants had dozens of guns concealed in a hotel room in Virginia, just over the Potomac River from Washington, DC, and had intended to transfer those weapons into the city in the event of widespread social unrest.

The Oath Keepers were on a strictly defensive mission, defence attorneys claimed, seeking to protect demonstrators and maintain calm both inside and outside the Capitol. The guns were never even taken into the city, they said.

The jury was informed that Rhodes was receiving calls and messages while the riots were occurring outside the Capitol. Rhodes encouraged his followers to “stand up in insurrection” in some of the texts the court was able to view.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, created The Oath Keepers. Members have appeared at several protests and armed standoffs across the nation during the previous ten years.

Meggs and Harrelson, two of the accused, are from Florida; Watkins is from Ohio; and Caldwell is from Virginia. Texas is home to Rhodes.

Later this year, more Oath Keepers members as well as those from the Proud Boys, another extremist organisation, will stand trial on seditious conspiracy charges.

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