JUST IN: Oath Keepers Leader Stewart Rhodes Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Seditious Conspiracy, Longest Jan. 6 Sentence to Date

Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for the charges stemming from his involvement in the January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy months ago alongside Kelly Meggs, another Oath Keeper who is also awaiting sentencing. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta likened Rhodes’ actions to domestic terrorism before handing down his sentence, which, according to NBC News, is the the longest sentence of any January 6th defendant to date.

Rhodes was convicted in November as the leader of a plot planned before January 6th to use force to stop the Congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. He and his fellow Oath Keepers facing prosecution were accused of encouraging colleagues to form a weapons cache and “quick reaction force” that could be summoned to Washington D.C. before they wound up joining the siege on the Capitol.

During the sentencing hearing, Rhodes reiterated false claims about the 2020 election while casting himself and other January 6th rioters as “political prisoners.” His claim to martyrdom was rejected by Mehta, who called him an “ongoing threat and peril to our democracy and the fabric of this country” before handing the sentence down.

Watch above via CNN.

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