After a nearly two-month trial, a Washington, D.C., jury found Stewart Rhodes guilty of leading a plot to forcibly disrupt the transfer of presidential power. The Oath Keepers founder's sentence is the longest so far among hundreds of Jan. 6 cases.
“I’m a political prisoner and like President Trump my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” said Rhodes, who appeared in Washington's federal court wearing orange jail clothes.
The judge found Meggs doesn’t present an ongoing threat to the country the way Rhodes does, but told him “violence cannot be resorted to just because you disagree with who got elected."A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of leading a plot to forcibly disrupt the transfer of presidential power.
The judge agreed to prosecutors' request for a so-called “terrorism enhancement” — which can lead to a longer prison term — under the argument that the Oath Keepers sought to influence the government through “intimidation or coercion." Judges in less serious Jan. 6 cases had previously rejected such requests.
People “across the political spectrum” want to believe that Jan. 6 was an “outlier,” Rakoczy said. “Not defendant Rhodes.”Defense lawyer Phillip Linder told the judge that prosecutors were unfairly trying to make Rhodes “the face” of Jan. 6, adding that Rhodes could have had many more Oath Keepers come to the Capitol “if he really wanted to” disrupt Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote.
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