The chief of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militant workforce that took phase within the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, will stay in prison till his trial on fees of seditious conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Stewart Rhodes used to be arrested in January at the side of 10 different Oath Keepers for his or her alleged plans to assault the U.S. Capitol. Of the masses of Capitol arrests, Rhodes and his allies are the primary to be charged with seditious conspiracy.
On Friday, U.S. District Pass judgement on Amit Mehta ordered that Rhodes stay in prison till his trial in July, mentioning the 1000’s of greenbacks of weapons and different apparatus he purchased earlier than the Capitol assault. He added that Rhodes had additionally made “considerable purchases” of guns after the Capitol assault, which left 5 other people lifeless and 140 officials injured.
“He items a transparent and convincing risk, individually,” Mehta mentioned.
Extra from The Related Press:
Prosecutors say Rhodes orchestrated the crowd’s attack at the Capitol with backup from an armed “fast response power,” or “QRF,” stationed at a Convenience Inn simply around the river in Arlington, Virginia. The QRF used to be composed of Oath Keepers individuals from Arizona, Florida and North Carolina and stayed involved with Rhodes all the way through the assault, consistent with prosecutors.
“The QRF groups guarded an arsenal of firearms and similar apparatus and had been ready to hurry the ones guns into the palms of co-conspirators at the floor in Washington when directed by means of Rhodes or different conspiracy leaders,” prosecutors wrote in a court docket submitting.
Legal professionals for Rhodes argued that he by no means ordered his armed “QRF” workforce to the Capitol as a result of former President Donald Trump didn’t invoke the Revolt Act, which Rhodes believed would have given him authority to behave.
Messages between Rhodes and different Oath Keepers acquired by means of prosecutors display Rhodes used to be making ready for “civil struggle.”
“We aren’t getting via this with out civil struggle,” Rhodes wrote within the days main as much as the Capitol assault, consistent with his indictment. “Too overdue for that. Get ready your thoughts, frame, spirit. It’ll be a bloody and determined battle. We’re going to have a battle. That may’t be have shyed away from.”
