Right-wing group “Oath Keepers” founder Stewart Rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after the 2020 election.
The court warned a defiant Stewart Rhodes before imposing the sentence that he still posed a threat to the United States, stating that it is obvious Rhodes “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence.”
“The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said.
Rhodes is the first defendant from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack to get a seditious conspiracy sentence, and among the hundreds of cases involving Capitol riots, his sentence is the longest to date.
The Justice Department’s extensive investigation that began on January 6 has now produced convictions for seditious conspiracy against the leading members of two far-right extremist groups, who, according to authorities, arrived to Washington determined to battle to maintain President Donald Trump’s position at all costs.
The prosecution had requested a 25-year sentence for Rhodes, who they claim was the mastermind of a scheme to violently obstruct the transition of presidential power. The plot involved “quick reaction force” squads stationed at a Virginia hotel who would transport guns into Washington, D.C., if they were needed.
Before the judge announced the sentence, Rhodes declared, “I’m a political prisoner and like President Trump, my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country.”
In a first for a case heard on January 6, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sided with the prosecution and decided to impose stricter punishments for “terrorism,” believing that the Oath Keepers had attempted to sway the government through “intimidation or coercion.”
Rhodes’ attorney claimed that prosecutors are unfairly attempting to make Rhodes “the face” of January 6 even though Rhodes intends to appeal his conviction.
Given that Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, was convicted of seditious conspiracy this month along with other members of his far-right organization for what the prosecution claimed was a separate plot to obstruct the transfer of presidential power, Rhodes’ sentence may serve as a guide for what the prosecution will seek for Tarrio.