Politics

Top Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in Jan. 6

The founder of the right-wing extremist group The Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was found guilty this week by a Washington, DC jury of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Rhodes and an associate, another alleged Oath Keepers member, Kelly Meggs, were both found guilty of the seditious conspiracy charges while three other members of the militia group were acquitted on the same charge but found guilty on others.

Rhodes and Meggs are the first defendants in any trial related to the attack to be found guilty of the charge of seditious conspiracy, and their verdicts pave the way for juries in two other upcoming trials on the same charges to proceed.

All five of the co-defendants were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding for launching the attack on the Capitol during the procedural vote to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The seditious conspiracy and obstruction charges both carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Rhodes was acquitted on two other conspiracy charges. 

The verdict, which came after three days of jury deliberation, preceded an announcement by the House January 6th Committee saying it will likely release its final report before Christmas after conducting months of interviews with hundreds of witnesses.

As of last week, almost 1,000 Capitol rioters have been charged in relation to the January 6 riot.

ARTICLE: LAURA SPIVAK

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: CNBC

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Laura is a freelance writer out of Maryland and a mom of three. Her background is in political science and international relations, and she has been doing political writing and editing for 17 years. Laura has also written parenting pieces for the Today Show and is currently working on writing a collection of remarkable true stories about normal people. She writes for FBA because unbiased news is vital to unity, and readers deserve the facts free of opinion.

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