Capitol assault: far-right Oath Keepers militia leader sentenced to 18 years in prison

2023-05-25 22:58:31

This is the highest sentence to date related to the assault on the Capitol. One of the figures of the American far right, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in prison for “sedition”, because of his active role on the day of the attack. “You represent a persistent threat and danger to this country,” said federal judge Amit Mehta to justify the severity of the sentence imposed on the founder of the “Oath Keepers” militia.

On January 6, 2021, a crowd of supporters of former US President Donald Trump sowed chaos in the temple of American democracy, judging that Joe Biden’s presidential victory was rigged. Since the attack, nearly 1,000 supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump have been arrested and charged. Nearly 300 received prison sentences, the heaviest of which so far was 14 years.

Stewart Rhodes and another member of the Oath Keepers were first convicted of sedition in the case last November. The prosecutors had managed to prove that he had started early to join the “Oath Keepers” after the defeat of the billionaire. “We are not going to get out of this without a civil war,” he wrote to them two days after the presidential election on encrypted messaging.

In the following weeks, he, they say, spent thousands of dollars buying night vision devices, weapons and ammunition, and stocking up on that arsenal at a hotel in suburban Washington. On January 6, helmeted and dressed in combat gear, several members of the “Oath Keepers” marched on the Capitol, some entering the building in military formation. 58-year-old former soldier, Stewart Rhodes, had remained outside, but according to prosecutors, he had led his troops with a radio.

“I am a political prisoner”

During his trial, the tribune had denied “planning” the attack and maintained that the “mission” of the Oath Keepers was to provide security for the demonstration called by Donald Trump to denounce alleged “electoral fraud”. The founder of the militia adopted a posture of defiance until the end of his trial: “I am a political prisoner”, “my only crime is to oppose those who are destroying our country”, he launched just before being fixed on his sentence.

Federal Judge Amit Mehta snapped him in his place: “You are NOT a political prisoner, Mr. Rhodes (…) you are here because twelve jurors (…) found you guilty of sedition, one of the gravest crimes an American can commit. This leader, who involves having planned the use of force against the government, is liable to 20 years in prison. But the prosecutors had requested 25 years against Stewart Rhodes, relying on a device which allows to raise the sentences for acts of a “terrorist” nature.

Six members of the “Oath Keepers” have been convicted of “sedition” in connection with the Capitol assault investigation. In early May, four members of another far-right group, the Proud Boys, also implicated in the attack, were also found guilty of “sedition”. Jurors are also trying to determine the degree of responsibility of Donald Trump in this attack which had shocked America. Last December, the Congressional Commission of Inquiry into the assault on the Capitol recommended criminal charges against the former president, including one for calling for insurrection.