The leader of the Oath Keepers group is sentenced to 18 years in prison for the attack on the Capitol

2023-05-25 21:36:38, Kosova & Bota CNA

The leader of the Oath Keepers group is sentenced to 18 years in prison for the

WASHINGTON – The founder of the extremist group Oath Keepers was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a week-long plot that culminated in his followers attacking the United States Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. presidential election of 2020.

Stewart Rhodes was the first person to be indicted for the January 6, 2021, attack on charges of conspiracy to riot, and his sentence is the longest so far among the hundreds of cases brought against participants in the Capitol riots.

His conviction is also another major achievement for the Justice Department's expanded Jan. 6 investigation, which has so far resulted in sedition conspiracy convictions against the leaders of two far-right extremist groups that authorities say landed in Washington prepared to fight to keep President Donald Trump in power at any cost.

Before announcing the verdict, the judge addressed a defiant Mr. Rhodes, telling him that he poses a continuing danger to the United States, and adding that it is clear that Mr. Rhodes "wants democracy in this country to turn to violence".

"The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms again against your government," said Justice Amit Mehta.

It was one of the most high-profile cases brought by the Justice Department, which has sought to prove that the riots by far-right extremists such as the Oath Keepers group were not spur-of-the-moment protests but the culmination of weeks of plotting to overturned Mr. Biden's election victory.

Prosecutors had sought 25 years in prison for Mr. Rhodes, who they said was the architect of the plot to forcibly disrupt the transfer of presidential power, involving "rapid reaction forces" divided into teams based in a hotel in Virginia, and which would bring arms to Washington in case it was needed. The weapons were never sent.

In his remarks before the judge handed down the verdict, Mr. Rhodes criticized the prosecutors as politically motivated, and noted that he never entered the Capitol and insisted that he did not tell anyone else to enter.

"I am a political prisoner, and like President Trump, my only crime is that I oppose those who are destroying our country," Mr. Rhodes said.

For the first time in court cases for January 6, Judge Amit Mehta agreed with prosecutors to impose an increased sentence on the "terrorism" charge, arguing that the Oath Keepers group tried to influence the government through "intimidation and coercion." In previous cases, the judge had struck down requests by the Justice Department for tougher sentences for terrorism, which could have carried longer prison terms - which Judge Mehta said was appropriate in Mr Rhodes' case.

So far, the longest sentence in the Capitol attack cases was 14 years in prison for a man with a long criminal record who assaulted police officers during the attack on the Capitol. Over 500 people have already been convicted and over half have received prison terms, while the rest have been sentenced to house arrest or conditional sentences./ VOA