According to the US Department of Justice, the leader of the group made a plan with his supporters for an armed rebellion to oppose the US administration by force.
Leader of the US far-right group Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes has been found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in the takeover of the country’s congressional building.
The outgoing president Donald Trump’s supporters occupied the Congress building in January 2021 to prevent a change of power. According to the US Department of Justice, Rhodes and his supporters planned an armed rebellion to oppose the US administration by force.
Rhodes, 57, founded the Oath Keepers group in 2009.
In the same trial, another member of the group was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy, but the other three were acquitted.
The maximum sentence for seditious conspiracy is 20 years in prison.
However, all five defendants were found guilty of obstructing official proceedings. The attack on the congress building happened just as the decision-makers had gathered to confirm the president Joe Biden election victory.
For the Ministry of Justice, the final outcome of the trial was good news for future legal proceedings. The same charges are also to be heard in court against the members of the far-right group Proud Boys.
Hundreds of Trump supporters have faced less serious charges in connection with the takeover of the Capitol.
According to the prosecutor, Rhodes led his followers like a general
During the trial, prosecutors accused members of the Oath Keepers group of storing weapons in a nearby hotel. According to prosecutors, Rhodes did not enter the congressional building himself, but directed his supporters like a general.
In his testimony, Rhodes himself denied that his group had planned an attack on the Capitol and said they were in Washington to secure the protests.
– Our intention was not to go inside the congress building for any reason, Rhodes said.
According to Rhodes, another member of the Oath Keepers who was found guilty of the conspiracy was an “idiot” when he led his people inside the building.
– I think it was stupid to go inside the congress building. It opened the door to political persecution of us, and here we are now,” Rhodes said in court.
Prosecutors showed the jury text messages between Rhodes and his supporters. The messages called for action if Trump himself could not prevent the change of power.