WASHINGTON — Stewart Rhodes, leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers group, and one other defendant were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, capping a trial of the most serious crimes alleged among the hundreds of people prosecuted.
The guilty verdicts by a Washington jury Tuesday mark a major win for the Justice Department in its effort to hold individuals accountable for breaking into the Capitol while Congress met to ratify the 2020 presidential election. The riot by thousands of former President Donald Trump supporters involved assaults on 140 police officers and caused more than $2 million in damage on the building.
After three days of deliberations, a federal court jury found Rhodes, 57, of Texas, guilty of three charges including obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents. A second defendant in the case, Kelly Meggs, was found guilty of the sedition charge that he and Rhodes conspired to stop the transfer of presidential power with a use of force intended to oppose the authority of the U.S. government.
