(Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

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(Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by GuideToACrazyWorld » Fri May 26, 2023 2:20 am


The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers group has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in a seditious conspiracy to disrupt the electoral count, the stiffest punishment to date to stem from the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

A jury in Washington, D.C., convicted Stewart Rhodes last November of the politically charged sedition charge and multiple other felonies. Given the rare nature of the charge, his prison term could influence any sentence Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group will face on the same charge later this summer.

"You, sir, present an ongoing threat and peril to this country...and to the very fabric of our democracy," said U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.

For the first time in a case related to the Jan. 6th attack, Judge Mehta found Rhodes's conduct amounted to terrorism, and factored that into his calculations under the advisory sentencing guidelines.

"Today's sentences reflect the grave threat the actions of these defendants posed to our democratic institutions," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "The Justice Department will continue to do everything in our power to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6th attack on our democracy."

Rhodes, a graduate of Yale Law School, pledged to appeal his conviction and sentence. His decision to testify in his own defense last year backfired after prosecutor Kathryn Rakoczy drew him out on inconsistencies in his account of his actions leading up to the Capitol siege and his penchant for conspiracy theories.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes convicted of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial
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Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes convicted of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial

During the trial, the Justice Department presented the jury with thousands of messages from Rhodes and other Oath Keepers before, during and after the events of Jan. 6, including Rhodes' comments that "we aren't getting through this without a civil war" and "the final defense is us and our rifles."

Unlike several of his followers and co-defendants, Rhodes never entered the Capitol building, instead presiding over the action like a general on the battlefield, prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler told jurors last year.

Even after the violence that day, and after his arrest, Rhodes repeatedly invoked the prospect of political violence, the judge said. Citing Rhodes's smarts and charisma, Judge Mehta said those same qualities inspired dozens of people to travel to Washington for the electoral count--and what made Rhodes "dangerous."

In more than 20 minutes of remarks, Rhodes cast himself as a political prisoner and said the experience had been "surreal," likening himself to the protagonist in a Franz Kafka novel. "I believe this country is incredibly divided and this prosecution...is going to make things worse. I consider every J 6er to be a political prisoner because all of them are grossly overcharged."

Rhodes, who was interrupted by the judge and asked to wrap up, said his goal in prison is to become "'an American Solzhenitsyn,'" referring to a Soviet dissident who spent time in a labor camp, and "to expose the criminality of this regime."

Judge Mehta rejected Rhode's bid for leniency and his claims that he had been targeted for political reasons.

"A seditious conspiracy...is among the most serious crimes an individual American can commit," Mehta said. "It is an offense against the people of this country."

Kelly Meggs, a co-defendant also convicted of seditious conspiracy and a former leader of Oath Keepers' Florida chapter, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Meggs, in tears, described the separation from his family members, as his attorney Stanley Woodward asked the judge for mercy.

On Wednesday, the judge heard emotional accounts from police and congressional staffers who continue to suffer from aftershocks of the assault on their workplace.

"I used to enjoy coming to work each day proud to be a police officer but the defendants took all that away from me," said U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn.
The Jan. 6 attack: The cases behind the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history
Investigations
The Jan. 6 attack: The cases behind the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history

D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Christopher Owens said his wife burst into tears after seeing his bruised and battered body when he finally returned home on Jan. 7, 2021. "My physical traumas and bruises have healed but the emotional trauma stays with me to this day," Owens said.

Terri McCullough, who served as chief of staff to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said the Capitol became a crime scene. "The defendants violated our work place, our government and our democracy, but they did not succeed, democracy succeeded."

The Justice Department had asked for Rhodes to serve 25 years in prison. Rhodes's legal team, led by Phillip Linder and Lee Bright, requested time served, about a year and a half.



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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by GuideToACrazyWorld » Fri May 26, 2023 2:20 am

When I read stuff like this I wonder if this he knows how ridiculous he sounds.

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Tarmaque » Fri May 26, 2023 5:40 am

This pendejo should keep his mouth shut. Most of us think he should hang by the neck until dead. Me personally, I'd tattoo "Child Rapist" on his forehead and dump him in general population.

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Slip Shod » Fri May 26, 2023 9:34 am

Biden's DOJ drops all charges against Soros-backed Massachusetts DA caught lying under oath
https://cntpd.link/z8zb5

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by GuideToACrazyWorld » Fri May 26, 2023 2:59 pm

Slip Shod wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 9:34 am
Biden's DOJ drops all charges against Soros-backed Massachusetts DA caught lying under oath
I'll have to research more; I haven't followed this case. What I find more bothersome right now is that the IRS "Whistleblower" claims that if he says this is true, it might be time to point a special console. I still don't think the investigation would have resulted in charges in most cases, but that doesn't mean the investigation itself should be circumvented.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-whistl ... ter-biden/

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Slip Shod » Fri May 26, 2023 4:28 pm

And Guide, what also is bothersome are whistleblowers at the FBI losing their security clearances which is retaliation which is actually illegal.
Corruption in our government lies at the doorstep of the top tier, who are overseeing departments, dictating policy; which laws they choose to enforce and who do they choose to persecute.
The bad apples are the political hacks at the top of these departments - the rank and file, they're in a position just to follow orders

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by GuideToACrazyWorld » Fri May 26, 2023 4:41 pm

Slip Shod wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 4:28 pm
And Guide, what also is bothersome are whistleblowers at the FBI losing their security clearances which is retaliation which is actually illegal.
That one is harder to comment on. So much of the information is classified. The FBI claims those agents had their clearance revoked over something to do with January 6th. If they were in some way involved with that riot it's a justified action. We just don't know what we don't know here.

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Slip Shod » Fri May 26, 2023 6:06 pm

James Comer: FBI Informant File Links Joe Biden to $5 Million Bribery Scheme

https://nypost.com/2023/05/25/comer-say ... empt-vote/

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Z is for Zangie » Sat May 27, 2023 3:17 am

GuideToACrazyWorld wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 2:59 pm
Slip Shod wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 9:34 am
Biden's DOJ drops all charges against Soros-backed Massachusetts DA caught lying under oath
I'll have to research more; I haven't followed this case. What I find more bothersome right now is that the IRS "Whistleblower" claims that if he says this is true, it might be time to point a special console. I still don't think the investigation would have resulted in charges in most cases, but that doesn't mean the investigation itself should be circumvented.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-whistl ... ter-biden/
Yeah, is this one off the whistleblowers they have misplaced? Forgive me if I am not ready to assume this person is telling the truth

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Z is for Zangie » Sat May 27, 2023 3:23 am

Slip Shod wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 6:06 pm
James Comer: FBI Informant File Links Joe Biden to $5 Million Bribery Scheme

https://nypost.com/2023/05/25/comer-say ... empt-vote/
The post?
Seriously? They are a well-known misinformation rag...and no, I don't trust the Republicans doing this, they have an agenda and it has nothing to do with actual crimes, they just want to trash Biden and impeach him and anything to keep themselves in power

I wish you would read more reliable and trustworthy sources

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by Z is for Zangie » Sat May 27, 2023 3:24 am

Z is for Zangie wrote:
Sat May 27, 2023 3:23 am
Slip Shod wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 6:06 pm
James Comer: FBI Informant File Links Joe Biden to $5 Million Bribery Scheme

https://nypost.com/2023/05/25/comer-say ... empt-vote/
The post?
Seriously? They are a well-known misinformation rag...and no, I don't trust the Republicans doing this, they have an agenda and it has nothing to do with actual crimes, they just want to trash Biden and impeach him and anything to keep themselves in power

They've told so many lies and made lots of blunders...they can KMA

I wish you would read more reliable and trustworthy sources

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Re: (Friday PO) Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

Post by GuideToACrazyWorld » Sun May 28, 2023 2:40 am

Z is for Zangie wrote:
Sat May 27, 2023 3:17 am
Yeah, is this one off the whistleblowers they have misplaced? Forgive me if I am not ready to assume this person is telling the truth
No. This is someone who did an actual interview and gave his name. I don't trust anonymous sources. Never have. .

His basic claim is that the while they IRS was researching the information on Hunter Biden's laptop the DOJ interfered several times having them short cut or skip parts of the process, always in favor of Hunter. To be fair he didn't say Hunter Biden by name but it's pretty clear who he is talking about. That article I posted is from CBS. This is the first time I've taken it seriously. I'm not sure if he's telling the truth or not, but I do think we should find out, because that is way out of line if it happened.

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