Capitol attack: Oath Keepers militia leader Stuart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison

“Sir, you are a constant threat and danger to this country, the republic and the fabric of our democracy. » Justice Amit Mehta addressed Stuart Rhodes with these solemn words on Thursday, May 25. A magistrate handed down an exemplary sentence of eighteen years in prison to the founder of the Oath Keepers, the extremist and racist armed militia on the front lines of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. This is an important and long-awaited step in the very long hunt for participants between the two presidents to violently end this attempt at a democratic transition.

In total, nearly a thousand people were indicted at the federal level, including 650 convicted felons. But Rhodes’ case is the most serious to date, and the most symbolic for the Justice Department, which chose to prosecute him. “Seditious Conspiracy”. The 57-year-old Oath Keepers founder appeared in court as A “political prisoner”quoting Courtby Franz Kafka or the Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. “My only crime is to oppose those who destroy the country”he argued.

The prosecutor managed to convince the judge to charge him with terrorism, even if the requested sentence – twenty-five years – was reduced to eighteen years. “It wasn’t a building explosion”Catherine Rakoc, one of the representatives of the prosecutor’s office, claimed that“Organization of the Armed Forces” and begs “Bloody Civil War” It’s coming close, he says.

In December 2020, following the formal vote of the electors in favor of the winner of the presidential election, Joe Biden, Stewart Rhodes published an open letter on his website, urging Donald Trump to use the Sedition Act. This two-century-old law would have allowed the National Guard and armed forces to be mobilized against a suspected coup attempt. The leader of the Oath Keepers called Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris enemies of the people. “If you refuse to act while in officehe wrote We the people will have to wage a bloody war against these two illegal puppets of China. »

Guilt by association

On January 6, Stuart Rhodes and his men, dressed in commando style, hid a large number of weapons in hotels near downtown Washington. Then they gathered in the Capitol. The leader himself did not enter the building, but everyone was in radio contact. Other members made way for a crowd of Donald Trump supporters to force through police-scarce roadblocks, smash windows and force down front doors. Kelly Maggs, one of Stewart Rhodes’ assistants, was sentenced Thursday to twelve years in prison.