The US Justice Department’s efforts to hold those responsible for the 6 January insurrection shifted into a higher gear this week with the start of jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes and several other members of his right-wing militia group.
All but Mr Rhodes and another defendant – Edward Vallejo of Phoenix – had previously been charged with crimes for their roles in the January 6 Capitol attack — the worst since British troops commanded by Major General Robert Ross set it ablaze in 1814 — when prosecutors unsealed a 48-page indictment against the Yale-educated (and disbarred) attorney turned extremist activist.
