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When Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia, appeared in court in 2023 to be sentenced on sedition charges stemming from the attack on the Capitol, he angrily described himself as a “political prisoner.” ” he echoed the language used by President Trump as well. description of those involved in the events of January 6, 2021.
And on Monday, when Mr. Trump commuted Mr. Rhodes’ 18-year prison sentence to time in prison, he effectively confirmed the far-right leader’s belief that his prosecution was a form of political persecution. in crime, as he confidently declared.
Mr. Rhodes, who spent more than a decade leading the Oath Keepers before his arrest in 2022, was at the Federal Correctional Institute in Cumberland, Md., when he was given the indictment. It is not yet clear when he will be released.
While Mr. Rhodes never entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors said he oversaw a large group of Oath Keepers as they devised “a plan for an armed insurrection to destroy the foundation of democracy” — the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 elections. . Prosecutors also said he was on the Capitol grounds when his “squadron” entered the building and other armed members were ready as a “quick reaction force” in the building. a hotel in Virginia in case something goes wrong.
Even after the Capitol attack, Mr. Rhodes continued to try to keep Mr. Trump in office. Testimony at his trial showed he tried to persuade a soldier-turned-IT expert with ties to Mr Trump to get a message to the president, begging him to keep his power and offering to encourage those member of the Oath Keepers to keep it. the White House.
More than most defendants on Jan. 6, Mr. Rhodes abandoned his violent ideology after Mr. Trump lost the election and Joseph R. Biden Jr. was appointed to enter the White House. In private text messages and a public open letter on the Oath Keepers website, he said his organization may have to fight at home to defeat its perceived enemies: a coalition of the Democrats, leftist activists and the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. founded the Oath Keepers. Rhodes in 2009, at the height of the right-wing Tea Party movement, personally welcomed former and current law enforcement officers and military veterans who vowed not to follow any government orders they deemed inconsistent. in the constitution. .
During the administration of President Barack Obama, the group entered into a high-profile conflict with federal officials. For example, they emerged in 2014 at a cattle ranch in Nevada after the owner, Cliven Bundy, and others engaged in an armed conflict with officials. federal on real estate.
But after Mr. Trump was first elected, Mr. Rhodes and the Oath Keepers abandoned their anti-government views and appeared to embrace many of Mr. Trump’s enemies and solutions — including the so-called deep state and left. movements like Black Lives Matter.
After he gets out of prison, Mr. Rhodes will return to a troubled organization. More than 20 members of the group were put on trial by prosecutors on January 6. Their trial, which resulted in widespread convictions, revealed, among other things, that Vice President Rhodes himself was an FBI informant.
