Which Oath Keepers went to trial and why?

Rhodes was on trial with Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins. All were accused of conspiring to engage in sedition, to obstruct the congressional affirmation of Biden’s victory and to impede lawmakers on Jan. 6. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for three days before finding Rhodes and lead Florida Oath Keeper Meggs guilty of seditious conspiracy. But the three other associates were not convicted of the historically rare and politically freighted sedition count. All five were convicted of obstructing Congress as it met to confirm the results of the 2020 election. Both offenses are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins, who went into the Capitol, were convicted of impeding lawmakers but acquitted of damaging property. All were found guilty of destroying evidence except for Watkins, who was convicted of interfering with police. Caldwell and Rhodes stayed out of the building, according to court records. But prosecutors say they helped organize the Oath Keepers’ involvement , including the stationing of armed “quick reaction force” teams with firearms, ammunition and explosives outside Washington. Four more defendants charged in the same seditious conspiracy are set to go to trial in December. Rhodes accused prosecutors of trying to manufacture a nonexistent conspiracy, denied that there was a plan to enter the Capitol and asserted that defendants only brought firearms in case President Donald Trump mobilized private armed groups to maintain order in a national emergency. Attorneys for the defendants say their aggressive talk was just bravado that did not reflect their nonviolent actions on Jan. 6. Unlike members of the Proud Boys, who face their own seditious conspiracy trial starting in December, the Oath Keepers are not charged with assaulting police, though the indictment describes them as joining mobs that fought with law enforcement.

What is seditious conspiracy?

Seditious conspiracy is defined as an effort by two or more to “conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.” A seditious conspiracy conviction carries the same 20-year maximum sentence as obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants face. But seditious conspiracy carries more political weight by implying participation in a rebellion against the government. Prosecutions under the law are rare; the last was more than a decade ago, against a Christian militant group, and ended with a judge throwing out the charges . But three members of the Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to participating in a seditious conspiracy around Jan. 6 and are cooperating with the government.

What connection is there to former president Donald Trump?

The profile of the Oath Keepers rose with the 2016 election, as Trump embraced far-right figures and baseless claims about the federal government. Oath Keepers began standing armed outside voting booths providing security for certain Republicans. Members of the Oath Keepers worked as security for Trump allies, including Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander, former security adviser Michael Flynn and political confidant Stone, who has publicly distanced himself from the violence and has said there is no evidence he had knowledge of the attack. Oath Keepers attorney SoRelle, who volunteered with a group of lawyers challenging the election results, says she was in contact with administration officials and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. After the 2020 election, Rhodes began calling on Trump to give militants legal cover to forcibly stop the transfer of power. After the riot, according to court documents, Rhodes tried to get in touch with Trump and asked an intermediary to again urge the president to deputize the Oath Keepers to use force.

What is the Insurrection Act and why does it matter?

The Insurrection Act is an 1807 law that allows the president to deploy federal troops, including deputized militias, to put down a domestic rebellion. The law has not been invoked in decades or been tested in the Supreme Court in nearly 200 years. Rhodes and his followers traveled to Washington for Jan. 6 and stashed weapons just outside the city in hopes that Trump would use the law to empower the Oath Keepers to act as a shock troop thwarting anyone who tried to make Biden’s election victory a reality, according to allegations outlined in court documents. Trump first threatened to use the law against Americans during racial justice protests in the summer of 2020. The Oath Keepers were among those urging Trump to do so, tweeting, “We’ll give Trump one last chance to declare this a Marxist insurrection & suppress it as his duty demands.” After the election, Rhodes again pushed Trump to use the Insurrection Act to stay in power by force. Court records show that in advance of Jan. 6, Rhodes privately told lead Oath Keepers to have weapons ready in case they were “called up by the President as a militia.” Prosecutors point to the discussions as evidence that the Oath Keepers had a plan to use violence to thwart democracy. Rhodes says the group was preparing for what would have been a legal order from the president.

Justice

Who are the Oath Keepers? Key details in the seditious conspiracy trial

Q: Who are the Oath Keepers?

The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by Rhodes, who wanted armed paramilitary groups to prepare for an inevitable conflict with a tyrannical federal government. Rhodes, a former aide to libertarian congressman Ron Paul, recruited among law enforcement and military veterans and soon claimed tens of thousands of members for the anti-government group. But few of those supporters have gotten involved in any Oath Keepers events, and former members describe it as a vanity project that Rhodes used to fund personal luxuries.

By Rachel Weiner

Spencer S. Hsu

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Tom Jackman

Updated November 30, 2022 at 4:33 p.m. EST|Published October 3, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, has been charged with seditious conspiracy. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Stewart Rhodes and four people described by prosecutors as “top lieutenants” in the Oath Keepers militia-movement group he founded were convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack in November after more than eight weeks of trial in federal court in Washington. Rhodes, the highest-profile defendant charged so far in the Jan. 6 investigation, was convicted of seditious conspiracy for steering a months-long effort to prevent by force the swearing-in of President Biden. Rhodes and his co-defendants were the first accused of seditious conspiracy and the first to face trial and be convicted on any conspiracy charge to date in the sprawling investigation.

The Oath Keepers trial

The latest: In a second sedition trial, four members of the far-right Oath Keepers group were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

How did we get here: Stewart Rhodes and other members of his group were charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Who is involved: A 13-count indictment charges Stewart Rhodes and eight others with conspiring to use force to oppose the lawful transfer of power to President Biden. Here are the nine Oath Keepers on trial.