Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy

Founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, Stewart Rhodes, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury on Tuesday over his role in the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of a plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

The verdict for Rhodes, who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, was read first “on behalf of the 12-member jury in the most significant of the numerous trials arising from the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot,” reported Reuters from inside the courtroom.

“Rhodes, who wears an eye patch after accidentally shooting himself in the face with his own gun, is one of the most prominent defendants of the roughly 900 charged so far in connection with the attack,” Reuters added. Rhodes and his four co-defendants faced a 13-count indictment, which the jury deliberated for three days.

Prosecutors argued that Rhodes and his co-defendants “planned to use force to prevent Congress from formally certifying Biden’s election victory” and “were accused of creating a ‘quick reaction force’ that prosecutors said positioned at a nearby Virginia hotel and was equipped with firearms that could be quickly transported into Washington if summoned,” Reuters noted.

The federal government historically has rarely pursued seditious conspiracy charges, which are considered a difficult bar to meet for prosecutors. The Washington Post explained the risks prosecutors took with the charge, “Bringing the politically charged count posed a higher risk at trial because it required that prosecutors prove the defendants harbored an intent to forcibly oppose the federal government, compared to the charge of conspiring to obstruct a proceeding of Congress, which is punishable by the same 20-year maximum prison term.”