Prosecutors alleged in the historic case against the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group, that the group plotted to attack the United States Capitol prior to the chaotic riot of Trump supporters.
An hour-plus opening statement from prosecutors sought to frame up how the jury should think about the allegations. The trial includes five alleged members of the far-right militia, including its leader, Stewart Rhodes.
Oath Keepers Trial
The individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charge of seditious conspiracy, which is a charge rarely brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and other charges. The DOJ's opening statement highlighted messages and other communications among the defendants.
Prosecutors said that the messages show the Oath Keepers' unlawful plotting to disrupt Congress' certification of United States President Joe Biden. They also showed a video that captured the defendants' actions in the Capitol and displayed maps and charts to help the jury follow the sequence of the events, as per CNN.
An assistant US Attorney, Jeffrey Nestler, told the jury that the Oath Keepers said out loud and in writing what they planned to do. He noted that when the opportunity presented itself, they quickly took action.
Rhodes' lawyer, who was the first defense attorney to deliver an opening statement, told the jury that evidence will be presented showing that the defendants "had no part in the bulk" of the violence that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to the New York Times, the lawyer, Phillip Linder, said that Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers members never planned an attack against the government on Jan. 6. Instead, he noted that the group was waiting for former President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act.
Seditious Conspiracy Charges
It was a move, they claim, that would have given the group standing as a militia to employ a force of arms in support of Trump. Linder, who called the Oath Keepers a "peacekeeping force," also argued that the group did not travel to Washington on the day of the Capitol riot to storm the building but to provide security at political rallies for speakers and dignitaries.
Rhodes and his subordinates are the first defendants in the sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack to face trial on charges of seditious conspiracy. The crime traces back to the Union's efforts to protect the federal government against secessionist rebels during the Civil War.
The trial is expected to last four to six weeks and will be both a primer on the inner workings of the far-right extremist group and a kind of test case for the sedition conspiracy charge. It is the most serious charge that the US government has brought so far against any of the nearly 900 people charged in the Capitol riot.
Rhodes' four co-defendants were identified as Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell. The group of individuals, who traveled from Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia to Washington, allegedly staged firearms near the Capitol building before forcing entry through the Capitol Rotunda doors wearing combat and tactical gear, the Washington Post reported.
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