A jovial Stewart Rhodes tries to woo jurors at Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes testified in his own defense Friday at the seditious conspiracy trial for the group's actions on Jan. 6.
WASHINGTON — The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers organization began testifying in his own defense at his seditious conspiracy trial on Friday, telling jurors that he thought the 2020 election was "unconstitutional" and that neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden were lawfully elected.
Stewart Rhodes is on trial along with Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell, all of whom are charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with their actions surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The government rested its case on Thursday without calling cooperating witnesses who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. Jurors did hear from two other Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty to other charges: One testified that he had prepared to say goodbye to his family and oppose the transfer of power "by any means necessary," and another who testified that he thought he was "acting like a traitor” against his own government.
Rhodes began his testimony on Friday morning, spending a bit over an hour on the stand. His testimony will continue on Monday when he'll also be cross-examined by the government.
Over the course of five weeks of testimony, jurors have heard violent rhetoric from Rhodes and about his attempts to reach then-President Donald Trump and convince him to invoke the Insurrection Act to stay in power.
Some of the most damning evidence against Rhodes came from a recording made on Jan. 10, 2021, when Rhodes was speaking with someone who he believed could get a message to Trump. Rhodes, talking about Jan. 6, said in the recording that his "only regret" was that they did not have guns that day.
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