Oath Keepers trial finds Stewart Rhodes guilty of sedition. So?
Oath Keepers trial: A jury finds Stewart Rhodes guilty of sedition conspiracy. The January 6 rioter with the famous eye injury is going to jail, but then what?
The Oath Keepers will not escape justice. On Tuesday, Nov. 29, in a closely watched trial, a jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another member, Kelly Meggs, guilty of the seditious conspiracy charges that were leveled against them for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. While three others were found not guilty of the more serious seditious conspiracy charge, all five of the defendants were found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting.
This monthslong effort placed a great deal of hope in the prosecution. It felt like a chance to both hold Jan. 6 rioters accountable and strike a critical blow against the far right as a movement. But despite Tuesday’s verdict, Americans — prosecutors and citizens — need to remain realistic about the limitations of a trial like this. Formal organizations like the Oath Keepers no longer define the American right-wing landscape. These increasingly decentralized movements may pose problems for prosecutors forced to play a time-consuming and expensive game of extremism whack-a-mole.
Despite Tuesday’s verdict, Americans — prosecutors and citizens — need to remain realistic about the limitations of a trial like this.
The prosecution claimed Rhodes tried to push President Donald Trump to take action to stop Joe Biden’s election, but ultimately took matters into his own hands — along with hundreds of unaffiliated activists. Rhodes and his four co-defendants disputed this in pre-trial filings, of course. “My client did nothing illegal that day, even though it may look inflammatory,” said Phillip Linder, attorney for Rhodes, in his opening remarks. They argued their organization had no criminal intentions, but was instead waiting for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act.
If Biden’s election was illegitimate, the Oath Keepers were ready to defend Trump’s legitimate one.
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