Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes found guilty of seditious conspiracy over January 6 riot 

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the January 6th Capitol bombing in a failed attempt to reverse then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

The verdicts against Rhodes and four co-defendants, after three days of deliberations, came in the most high-profile trial yet to emerge from the deadly attack on the Capitol, with other high-profile trials set to begin next month.

A co-defendant, Kelly Meggs, was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy on Tuesday, while three others – Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell – were acquitted of those charges. All were found guilty of obstructing official proceedings on January 6. Rhodes faces up to 20 years in prison.

Hundreds of people have been convicted in the attack on the Capitol, which left dozens of officers injured and lawmakers fleeing for their lives.

Rhodes and his co-defendants are charged with a weeks-long plot to stop the transfer of power from Republican Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden

Jessica Marie Watkins (2nd from left) and Donovan Ray Crowl (center), both of Ohio, march down the eastern steps of the Capitol with the Oath Keepers militia group among supporters of US President Donald Trump in Washington, US, January 6, 2021

Rhodes, a Yale Law School-educated former army parachutist and disbarred attorney, was charged by prosecutors during an eight-week trial with inciting a plot to use force to prevent Congress from ratifying President Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump .

He was the most famous of the five defendants in the most important of the many trials that emerged from the deadly riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta presided over the trial, and the jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict on Tuesday.

Rhodes, who wears an eye patch after accidentally shooting himself in the face with his own weapon, is one of the most prominent defendants of the approximately 900 suspects charged in connection with the attack so far.

Rhodes founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, a militia group whose members include current and retired U.S. military, law enforcement, and first responders.

Its members have appeared, often heavily armed, at protests and political events across the United States, including the racial justice demonstrations following the murder of a black man named George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Prosecutors said at trial that Rhodes and his co-defendants planned to use force to prevent Congress from formally ratifying Biden’s election victory. Meggs, Watkins, and Harrelson all entered the Capitol dressed in tactical gear.

Violent insurgents loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021

Rhodes was the most famous of the five defendants in the most important of the numerous trials that emerged from the deadly riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021

President Donald Trump addressed his supporters from The Ellipse on January 6, 2021

The defendants were charged with setting up a “rapid response force” that prosecutors said was stationed at a nearby Virginia hotel and equipped with firearms that could be quickly transported to Washington if called upon.

Fifty witnesses testified at the trial. Rhodes and two of his co-defendants testified in his defense. They denied plotting an attack or trying to stop Congress from certifying the election results, though Watkins admitted obstructing police officers protecting the Capitol.

Rhodes told the jury he had no intention of storming the Capitol and only learned that some of his fellow oath keepers had breached the building after the riot ended.

Prosecutors tried to paint Rhodes as a liar during cross-examination, showing him page after page of his inflammatory text messages, videos, photos and audio recordings.

These included Rhodes complaining about not bringing guns to Washington on January 6 and saying he could have hung US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat reviled by the right, from a lamppost.

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the civilian militia group known as the Oath Keepers, speaks at a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017

Watkins, a transgender woman who fled the U.S. military after facing homophobic slurs, and Caldwell, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran, also chose to testify.

Watkins admitted to “criminal liability” for obstructing police officers at the Capitol and issued an apology. At the same time, Watkins denied having any plan to storm the building, describing being “dragged”, much like how avid shoppers behave on “Black Friday” when they storm into stores to buy discounted Christmas gifts such as TVs.

Caldwell, who like Rhodes did not enter the Capitol and never formally joined the Oath Keepers, attempted to downplay some of the inflammatory texts he sent in connection with the attack. Caldwell said some of the lines were adapted from or inspired by movies like “The Princess Bride” and cartoons like Bugs Bunny.

Four other Oath Keepers members charged with seditious conspiracy will appear in court in December. Members of another right-wing group called the Proud Boys, including former chairman Enrique Tarrio, will also stand trial in December on seditious conspiracy charges.