A far-right militia commander was given an 18-year prison term for his involvement in the disturbance at the US Capitol.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other offenses.
On January 6, 2021, Rhodes remained outside the Capitol but coordinated with militiamen who assaulted the structure.
The punishment meted out to a Capitol rioter is the longest thus yet. Attorneys had requested a 25-year sentence.
In one of the most well-known Capitol riot trials, Rhodes was found guilty of obstructing an official procedure and interfering with records or proceedings.
The militia commander displayed no contrition at a hearing on Thursday, arguing the Oath Keepers merely wanted to defend fellow protestors and that he was being held as a political prisoner.
Judge Amit Mehta disproved such assertions and voiced worry about Rhodes' threatening language, which included a promise to hang former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The term imposed on Rhodes is the harshest to date for the disturbance, in which tens of thousands of fans of Donald Trump rushed the US Congress to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The Oath Keepers were established in 2009 by Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper, and Yale-educated attorney.
Armed members of the anti-government gang attended many demonstrations and standoffs before becoming ardent Trump fans. There were several people at the riot.
What occurred on January 6 among the Oath Keepers?
Two days after the November 2020 election, while the ballots were still being tallied, Rhodes launched a campaign to contest the results.
"We aren't getting through this without a civil war," he said in a plea to his followers. Prepare your body, soul, and mind.
After spending thousands of dollars on guns and equipment, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers hid them in a hotel room in nearby Virginia just before January 6, 2021.
Rhodes took calls and texts while others from the Oath Keepers rushed the premises during the actual melee. He behaved like a "battlefield general" throughout the brawl, according to the prosecution.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
What is a seditious conspiracy?
Later on Thursday, Kelly Meggs, the militia's Florida chapter's head, was due to get his sentencing.
Meggs was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail under a little-used Civil War-era provision.
It differs from treason, which entails a heavy burden of evidence and is punishable by the death sentence according to the US Constitution.
Rhodes and Meggs' co-defendants, three other Oath Keepers, were found not guilty of seditious conspiracy but were found guilty of other, less serious offenses.
The prosecution's request for a harsher sentence for Rhodes under a so-called "terrorism enhancement" was granted by Judge Mehta. According to them, the Oath Keepers wanted to employ "intimidation or coercion" against the US government.
Four members of the far-right Proud Boys were found guilty of the crime earlier this month, while four further Oath Keepers were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in January.
However, the majority of the Capitol rioters did not belong to a formal organization.
Over 1,000 individuals have been detained in connection with the unrest, and more than half of them have admitted to offenses including assault, theft, charges involving firearms, trespassing, and hindering an official investigation.
The US Justice Department reports that after a trial, about 80 people were convicted.
