Stewart Rhodes and fellow member of Oath Keepers found guilty of sedition

The US attorney general and federal investigators said the conviction of several members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia group, for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection sends a message that attempts to undermine democracy will not be tolerated.

“The FBI will always uphold the rights of all citizens who peacefully engage in First Amendment protected activities, but we and our partners will continue to hold accountable those who engaged in illegal acts regarding the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement Tuesday.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland, in the same statement, reiterated the intent to hold rioters who committed crimes accountable while praising the work of the prosecutors and agents in the case.

Lawyers for the defendants said they were disappointed in the verdict but believed their clients had received a fair trial.

“I do believe that they gave us a fair trial,” James Lee Bright, an attorney for Stewart Rhodes, told reporters outside the courthouse. Bright added, however, that he believed the verdict “could have been substantially different” if the trial had been moved outside of Washington, DC.

“The government did a good job, they took us to task,” Bright said, adding that he has “absolute respect” for the Justice Department prosecutors and Judge Amit Mehta, who presided.

“It goes without question we are disappointed,” Bright said, adding that Rhodes’ defense team plans to appeal his conviction on the seditious conspiracy charge.

Kenneth Harrelson’s attorney, Bradford Geyer, also said he would be appealing the verdict. Harrelson was acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge but found guilty on several other charges.

“He’s a good man,” Geyer said, adding that his client was in the Capitol for 17 minutes and he didn’t intend to obstruct Congress. 

“He didn’t have any of that in his head,” Geyer said. “A lot of this was about scary words.”

Jonathan Crisp, the attorney for Jessica Watkins, said his client was grateful the jury also found her not guilty of seditious conspiracy.

“I understand the jury’s decision,” Crisp told CNN. “It’s just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to convince them” that Watkins’ intention was not to obstruct.

Thomas Caldwell’s attorney, David Fischer, told reporters that the verdict was a “major victory” for his client and a significant blow to the Justice Department.

“It obviously was a major victory for Mr. Caldwell,” Fischer said. “He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy and three other major conspiracy counts. And it was just as obviously a major defeat for the Department of Justice.”

Some context: All five defendants were convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

The two defendants convicted of seditious conspiracy — Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs — face a 20-year maximum prison sentence on that charge.

They, along with the other three defendants — Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell – were convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, which also carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

The defendants were convicted of multiple charges, and the judge could issue a sentence that exceeds 20 years. Conversely, the judge could decide to sentence defendants to far less than the maximum allowed.

Sentencing hearings typically happen 90 days after a verdict is reached.

Judge Amit Mehta said in court that four of the defendants, including Rhodes, will remain behind bars.

Only one defendant — Caldwell — had been on pretrial release.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the Jan. 6 House select committee that has been investigating the insurrection, said guilty verdicts for several members of the Oath Keepers showed that the judicial system is working.

“Within that macro offense against American democracy, hundreds or perhaps even thousands of individual discrete crimes took place. The people who are guilty of those crimes are being tried for them — many of them are pleading guilty, others of them are being found guilty,” he told CNN shortly after the verdicts were handed down in federal court Tuesday. “That is what the rule of law and the system of justice is about in a democratic society,” he said.

Raskin noted how some defendants – such as the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes – were convicted on some charges and acquitted on others.

The committee, which was formed in July 2021, has held several public hearings as part of its investigation into the insurrection. During its investigation, the members interviewed witnesses and reviewed documents and video footage to put together a more complete picture of what happened — as well as examine connections between former President Donald Trump and right-wing groups like the Oath Keepers.

“I would view this as a vindication, generally, of the work of our committee, but of course the other half of our work is forward-looking. What do we need to do to fortify American democracy against coups, insurrections, political violence and electoral sabotage in the future?” Raskin said.

Latest on Jan. 6 committee: The members are in active discussions about what to include in the panel’s final report but expect it will focus on issues beyond how Trump’s efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power fueled the violence that day. The report, which is slated for release by the end of the year, will effectively serve as the committee’s closing statement but with less than two months left before the panel expires, members are still deliberating over what it will contain and how those findings will be presented.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday by a Washington, DC, jury of seditious conspiracy for orchestrating a far-reaching plan to stop the peaceful transfer of power after former President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The conviction is a win for the Justice Department, which argued that the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was more than just a political protest that got out of control — but rather a violent attack on the seat of American democracy and an effort to keep Biden out of the Oval Office by any means necessary.

Four other defendants also faced charges.

Here’s a full rundown of the verdict:

Count 1: Seditious conspiracy

Stewart Rhodes: GUILTY

Kelly Meggs: GUILTY

Kenneth Harrelson: NOT GUILTY

Jessica Watkins: NOT GUILTY

Thomas Caldwell: NOT GUILTY

Count 2: Conspiracy to Obstruct an official proceeding 

Stewart Rhodes: NOT GUILTY

Kelly Meggs: GUILTY

Kenneth Harrelson: NOT GUILTY

Jessica Watkins: GUILTY

Thomas Caldwell: NOT GUILTY

Count 3: Obstructing an Official Proceeding

Stewart Rhodes: GUILTY

Kelly Meggs: GUILTY

Kenneth Harrelson: GUILTY

Jessica Watkins: GUILTY

Thomas Caldwell: GUILTY

Count 4: Conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties

Stewart Rhodes: NOT GUILTY

Kelly Meggs: GUILTY

Kenneth Harrelson: GUILTY

Jessica Watkins: GUILTY

Thomas Caldwell: NOT GUILTY

Count 5: Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting 

Kelly Meggs: NOT GUILTY

Kenneth Harrelson: NOT GUILTY

Jessica Watkins: NOT GUILTY

Count 6: Civil Disorder and Aiding and Abetting

Jessica Watkins: GUILTY

Count 7: Tampering with Documents

Stewart Rhodes: GUILTY

Count 8: Tampering with Documents

Kelly Meggs: GUILTY

Count 9: Tampering with Documents

Kenneth Harrelson: GUILTY

Count 13: Tampering with Documents

Thomas Caldwell: GUILTY

A jury found five members of the right-wing militia group, the Oath Keepers, guilty of at least one charge each in the historic criminal trial following the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.

There are no cameras allowed during federal proceedings, but artist Bill Hennessy’s sketches provide a glimpse of the events.

The group’s leader Stewart Rhodes and fellow group member Kelly Meggs were found guilty of the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy. Rhodes, Meggs and the three other defendants – Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell – were also convicted of obstructing an official proceeding.

The jury was made up of seven men and five women.

The rule of law and peaceful of transfer of power were on the line in the Oath Keepers trial, CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem noted on Tuesday – and the guilty verdicts sent a message.

“This is a really great day for the United States, for the rule of law, for the peaceful transfer of power and making sure that that is protected because that is essentially what was on trial,” she said.

Kayyem added, “But the overall charge against, in particular, Stewart Rhodes, is monumental because it is saying to the world that this was, one word, conspiracy, more than one. It is not a bunch of guys vacationing and deciding to get a little bit disruptive. It was planned before, during, and possibly after to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.”

Kayyem also highlighted how the verdicts may impact other cases moving forward, sending a message to groups and individuals that participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol attack — potentially leading some to take pleas.

“We have to figure out exactly what each count relates to in terms of the guilty verdict. So it is not just a statement to those defendants, it’s a statement to potentially future defendants. This is how these cases, this is how violent organizations die, which is a good thing. They get disrupted at the top. They turn on each other, which is what we saw in this case. They have no trust amongst each other, and they know that they have now been exposed.”

Kayyem said that the result is that others facing similar charges will get nervous. “And they will take more pleas or they will take pleas that are being offered by the Department of Justice.”

Michael Fanone, a former Washington, DC, police officer who was at the US Capitol during the insurrection, said he hopes the guilty verdicts for several members of the Oath Keepers is a “learning tool” for others to recognize the seriousness of the insurrection.

“I would hope that this would serve as a learning tool for many members of Congress and many Americans who don’t believe that Jan. 6 was serious, that it was a serious attack on our democracy,” he told CNN.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and fellow group member Kelly Meggs were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. All five defendants were also convicted of obstructing an official proceeding.

“I think the verdict speaks for itself,” Fanone said. “The evidence that was put forth by the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Stewart Rhodes and at least one of his conspirators engaged in a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the United States government by means of violence.”

He added that the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol did a good job making connections between former President Donald Trump and leaders of the Oath Keepers and other right-wing groups during its investigation and public hearings.

“So if I was the former president and many of his allies, I would be shaking in my boots seeing these verdicts coming down,” Fanone added.

On the remaining charges, the jury acquitted Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and another defendant of conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, while convicting their three co-defendants of that charge. 

The jury also acquitted three of the defendants accused of destroying government property, while convicting Jessica Watkins, who was charged with civil disorder.

In addition, the four defendants charged with tampering with documents were convicted.

The court is in recess.

Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn thanked the Justice Department and jury for the verdicts in the historic trial of five alleged leaders of the right-wing militia group, the Oath Keepers.

Dunn was in the courtroom, sitting in the front row.

“It was emotional I didn’t expect to cry in there. I am appreciative to the jury and the justice department,” Dunn said. “Thank you for getting justice for not just me and my fellow officers, but the United States. I don’t look at as a victory when you do what’s right… It’s a lot to process.”

While the verdict was being read in the federal courtroom, the five defendants expressed little emotion.

All of them were convicted of at least one charge.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers who was found guilty of the most serious seditious conspiracy charge, among others, had his head down, writing notes to one of his attorneys, Ed Tarpley.

Members of the prosecution congratulated each other after the jury had left. None of the prosecutors commented on the verdict.

One of the defendants, Thomas Caldwell, and his wife prayed together several times before entering the courtroom.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes has been acquitted, along with two other defendants, of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, which was the vote in Congress to certify the 2020 presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the US Capitol. 

The other two defendants were convicted of that charge.

The Justice Department has charged about 50 defendants with some form of conspiracy as part of its broader prosecution related to the insurrection, while prosecutors have applied the rare seditious conspiracy charge of which Rhodes was acquitted in fewer cases. 

The defendants in the Oath Keepers case face a range of other charges, including the destruction of government property, civil disorder, and tampering with documents.

The jury has convicted Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy in addition to Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes.

The three other defendants were acquitted of that charge.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes has been convicted by a Washington, DC, jury of seditious conspiracy for orchestrating a far-reaching plan to stop the peaceful transfer of power after former President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The conviction is a win for the Justice Department, which has argued that the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, was more than just a political protest that got out of control — but rather a violent attack on the seat of American democracy and an effort to keep Biden out of the Oval Office by any means necessary.

There are four other defendants facing multiple charges; the verdict is still being read in court.

A verdict will be read soon in the historic seditious conspiracy trial of five alleged Oath Keepers – a closely watched test of how the Justice Department is prosecuting US Capitol rioters.

The trial began more than seven weeks ago and has featured hundreds of messages, audio recordings, and videos of the defendants’ revolutionary rhetoric in the wake of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory, and of their actions as they traversed the US Capitol grounds during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Defense attorneys argued that that there was no uniformed plan among the group, that the far-right Oath Keepers militia group only attended the Stop the Steal rally to provide security details for speakers, and that the inflammatory recordings of the defendants were nothing more than “locker room talk.”

Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell have all pleaded not guilty.

Here are key things to know about the defendants:

The jury deciding the fate of five alleged leaders of the Oath Keepers submitted a note to the judge on Monday, asking for clarification over the definition of seditious conspiracy.

The jury will decide whether the five alleged leaders conspired to commit sedition by plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

The note to the judge read “Clarify: prevent hinder or delay the execution of any law of the U.S., vs. governing the transfer of presidential power including the US Constitution.”

“There is clearly some confusion on their part for how these concepts connect,” District Judge Amit Mehta said in court Monday. “So i think it would be useful to spell it out.”

When the jury reentered the courtroom, Mehta instructed them that “the seditious conspiracy charge alleges as one of its two objects to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States by force.”

“The law of the United States, for the purposes of this charge, are the laws governing the transfer of power” outlined in the Constitution, he said.  

Government prosecutors and defense attorneys on Nov. 17 announced they had finished presenting evidence in the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial, wrapping up a seven-week effort to argue whether five alleged members of far-right militia plotted to stop Joe Biden from assuming the presidency.

Prosecutors showed the Washington, DC, jury hundreds of text messages, recordings and videos of the five defendants, brought seized assault rifles into the courtroom, and told the jury about the depths of the militia movement in the wake of the 2020 election.

Defense attorneys rebutted that argument by saying their clients said outlandish things, but never acted violently and never had a concrete plan to storm the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. All five have pleaded not guilty.

The jury is made up of seven men and five women. After lawyers finished presenting evidence, District Judge Amit Mehta asked one juror, a White woman who works in education at a nonprofit, to come back to the courtroom. The juror is in the process of moving to Texas and had spent several weeks expressing concern about finding a place to stay to finish the trial.

Mehta dismissed the juror, who was an alternate.

“It’s sort of nice to stop at least one thing happening in my life right now,” the juror said.

Before leaving the room, she asked Mehta whether another juror, who she described as “my buddy,” could take her seat because it was more comfortable than his. The judge laughed and said yes.

As she walked out, the five defendants, their attorneys, and the prosecutors stood up and applauded.

After she was dismissed, the jury returned to the courtroom. Mehta said to them, “I’m sorry to say you are one fewer, but I know one of you is very happy to be in the second row.”

The history of the seditious conspiracy statute dates back to the start of the Civil War when Congress made it a crime to conspire to overthrow the US government or to conspire to use force to “prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”

In the infrequent cases when prosecutors have brought the charge, they have not always been successful in securing a conviction.

The last time it was charged – against a Michigan militia accused of plotting an attack on law enforcement – the count was dismissed by a judge in 2012 who said the Justice Department failed to show that there was a “concrete agreement to forcibly oppose the United States government.”

The way allegations of seditious conspiracy may run into constitutionally protected free speech can pose a problem for prosecutors, according to Mark Satawa, one of the defense attorneys who represented the Michigan militia members.

“The act of speaking, the act of talking about something – and that something may be the overthrow the United States government – but it’s still talking,” he told CNN. “And so the act itself runs afoul of these very deeply held beliefs that we have as a people, this idea that we should be able to bitch about our government.”

In the Jan. 6 case, prosecutors are pointing to alleged statements from Stewart Rhodes calling for a “civil war” to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s win, as well as concrete steps the Oath Keepers are accused of taking to plan for a violent encounter.

A jury, made up of seven men and five women, has been considering a total of 10 charges against defendants Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson, and Thomas Caldwell, including three separate conspiracy charges, obstructing the electoral college vote, and tampering with evidence.

Here’s a look at all the charges:

Seditious conspiracy: All five defendants are accused of planning to use force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6.

Conspiracy to obstruct and obstructing an official proceeding: The defendants are all facing charges alleging that they conspired together to, and did, stop Congress from certifying the electoral college votes inside the Capitol.

Conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties: This charge also relates to the certification of the electoral college vote. The indictment alleges that all five defendants worked together to “prevent by force, intimidation, and threat… Members of the United States Congress, from discharging any duties,” namely, certifying the election.

Destruction of government property and aiding and abetting: Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins, according to prosecutors, were part of a crowd that burst through the Capitol’s Rotunda doors on Jan. 6. They are not alleged to have broken the doors themselves.

Civil disorder and aiding and abetting: Jurors will consider whether Jessica Watkins interfered with law enforcement when she allegedly joined a crowd near the Senate chamber, pushed against and shouted at officers who were guarding the chamber doors.

Tampering with documents or proceedings and aiding and abetting: Rhodes, Meggs, Harrelson and Caldwell are each facing charges for allegedly deleting messages and pictures from their phones or social media accounts after Jan. 6. Prosecutors also allege that Rhodes instructed other Oath Keepers to delete messages after the riot.

The Oath Keepers trial – the first of three seditious conspiracy cases set to start this year – is a major test of the Justice Department’s theory that far-right extremist groups plotted to disrupt America’s longstanding tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.

The seditious conspiracy charge is politically risky and notoriously difficult to prove. Cases are brought infrequently, and prosecutors haven’t won a conviction on the charge in decades.

If prosecutors do manage to secure a seditious conspiracy conviction, it could help rebut criticisms that the Justice Department has not been aggressive enough in prosecuting rioters and help dispel claims that the riot was merely a protest that got out of hand.

The verdict could also come with ramifications for a Justice Department increasingly under political fire. When it was unsealed early this year, the indictment against members of the Oath Keepers sparked outrage among some supporters of the former president and figureheads on the right who claimed the allegations were exaggerated and the charges politically motivated.

Law enforcement leaders have continued to warn of the recent rise in domestic extremist threats from lone actors and small groups, a threat some Republican lawmakers have sought to downplay.

Following Trump’s presidential campaign announcement, the verdict could face further scrutiny down the road. The former president – who told his supporters to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6 – has said that, if elected, he would consider “full pardons” for the rioters.

Jurors have reached a verdict in the seditious conspiracy trial of five alleged leaders of the Oath Keepers accused of conspiring to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys confirmed to CNN that a verdict has been reached. Jurors deliberated for more than 17 hours.

The jury, made up of seven men and five women, considered a total of ten charges against defendants Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell, including three separate conspiracy charges, obstructing the electoral college vote, and tampering with evidence.

All five have pleaded not guilty. If they are convicted of the most serious charges, each defendant could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

“The case is finally yours, after all these weeks,” district Judge Amit Mehta told the jury last week at the end of the two-month presentation of evidence.

Key moments from the closing arguments: Prosecutors wove together messages, videos, testimony and records to show how the defendants from across the country allegedly joined together to plan and execute a way to keep Trump as president by any means necessary.

“For these defendants, the attack on the Capitol was a means to an end,” prosecutor Kathryn Rakoczy said, adding that the defendants were “self-anointed to stand up for their version of the law, their version of what should have happened in that election.”

Rakoczy continued, “The sense of entitlement that led to frustration, followed by rage and then violence. That is the story of this conspiracy, ladies and gentlemen.”

Rejecting arguments brought by the defense, Rakoczy told jurors that despite claims there was not an explicit order to enter the Capitol that day, there was a clear conspiracy to stop Biden’s ascendency by any means.

Attorneys for the defendants said again and again to the jury that no government witness – including former members of the Oath Keepers there on Jan. 6 – could testify that there was a direct plan to attack the Capitol.

“Call it the big three,” an attorney for Rhodes, James Lee Bright, said. “No plan to storm the Capitol … no plan to breach the Rotunda … no plan to stop the certification or delay the certification of the electors.”

Others were more direct, including Watkins’ attorney Jonathan Crisp, who told jurors that the government had lied to them, calling the trial “a Michael Bay production.”

In a final rebuke, lead prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler called upon jurors to see the defendants, most of whom are military veterans, as traitors to the country they claim to protect.