The seditious conspiracy trial of several members of the far-right group Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, for their role in the attack on the US Capitol began in Washington on Monday.
Rhodes, leader of the group, and four of its members are accused of conspiring to try to forcibly prevent the confirmation of Joe Biden’s electoral victory in the 2020 presidential electionin which the Democrat removed Donald Trump from the presidency.
According to the indictment, the five members Stockpiled weapons, ammunition and grenades in a hotel near the US capital with the aim of “preventing several congressmen from certifying the elections,” said prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler.
For Nestler, this simple fact, regardless of whether or not there are verbal or written agreements, is enough to merit the charge of conspiracy to commit a crime.
In his statement, the prosecutor described the members of the group as the well-organized “leaders” of the crowd that invaded the seat of legislative power on January 6, 2021.
Their objective was to prevent, by any means necessary, the legal transfer of presidential power, including taking up arms against the Government of the United States,” the prosecutor said, adding that “they devised a plan of armed rebellion to destroy a base of American democracy”.
During the attack, he left five dead and more than 140 police officers injuredRhodes remained outside the building supervising the operation, while another of the defendants, Kelly Meggs, led a group of 14 people inside the Capitol, where they were divided into two groups of seven: one addressed to the Senate and another to the House. of Representatives. .
Rhodes’ defense, meanwhile, tried to convince the jury that the armed members of the Oath Keepers had no intention of preventing Biden’s confirmation, but rather to “react” if Trump asked them to intervene.
This request, which the group said the President could make under a 1807 rule that allows the commander of the Armed Forces to ask paramilitary groups to enforce the law, would have been aimed at protecting “high-level” people who had attended the rally in front of the Capitol, according to attorney Phillip Linder, who represents Rhodes.
Trump never made such a request, however, and Linder said his client did not attempt to ask the then-president, through an intermediary, to invoke the 1807 rule — although a member of the group did, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy. . that he heard Rhodes repeatedly ask an unknown caller for Trump to act on it.
The prosecution found that members of the group planned to use force to prevent Biden from being confirmed, regardless of what Trump said.
The Oath Keepers are a loose organization linked to citizen militias, and while they accept anyone as a member, they focus their recruitment efforts on ex-military, police, and first responders.
The group would eventually adopt much of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
The trial in the Federal District Court in Washington is expected to last between four and six weeks and is the first of several against far-right groups for anti-government actions in the context of the attack on Capitol Hill.
Members of the group are charged with seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that could land them up to 20 years behind bars. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which last secured a seditious conspiracy conviction nearly 30 years ago.
Source: Observadora
