Also present in court were Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and USCP support dog Lila, a black Labrador retriever. Metropolitan Police officer Christopher Owens, Lazarus, USCP officer Harry Dunn, college student and former chamber assistant Virginia Brown and Pelosi chief of staff Terri McCullough. The other five Oath Keepers attended remotely.įive witnesses representing law enforcement and Congress read victim impact statements to the court on the prosecution's behalf: D.C. Defendant Jessica Watkins wore a green scrunchie in her hair. The oil painted portraits of past judges and four marble figures, all historically significant lawgivers, loomed overhead, mounted on the walls of the courtroom.įour of the first five Oath Keepers tried for sedition – two convicted of the rare charge, though all found guilty of serious felonies – sat in the courtroom in orange jumpsuits with white undershirts.
MPD officer: 'I cannot forgive'Įleven defense attorneys and five prosecutors wrapped around the front of the wood and marble ceremonial courtroom in D.C.
#Prison architect best prison trial
Defense attorneys sought to move the trial out of D.C. "It was not part of our mission for that day to enter the Capitol for any reason," Rhodes testified during the trial.Īfter the November verdict, Rhodes attorney James Bright told reporters he thought his client received a fair trial but might have had a different outcome in another jurisdiction. Rhodes took the stand in his own defense during the trial and claimed that the Oath Keepers who entered the Capitol on Jan. "If you want to put a face on J6, you put it on Trump, right-wing media, politicians – all the people who spun that narrative for months." 6 still would have happened just as it did," said Rhodes attorney Phillip Linder. They also argued in court filings that the Oath Keepers group has been dedicated to "philanthropy" from its inception and has been "misconstrued and mischaracterized" by others. Rhodes' attorneys requested a sentence of "time served," citing Rhodes' military service and Yale Law School education. That day, he was a "general overlooking a battlefield while his troops stormed inside," prosecutors argued. "It is necessary for this court, through its sentence, to say that no American citizen can impose by force their version of the law," she said.ĭuring the trial, prosecutors described Rhodes as the "orchestrator of this conspiracy and the architect of the plan." They emphasized evidence that Rhodes coordinated Oath Keepers in several states to converge on the Capitol on Jan. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said Rhodes "doggedly drilled" President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud into his followers' minds and advocated for the former president to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give him the authority to call on the military and National Guard forces to suppress an insurrection. The Justice Department sought a 25-year prison sentence for Rhodes, suggesting in court filings earlier this month he should face "swift and severe punishment" for his conduct, which "created a grave risk to our democratic system of government." DOJ sought 25 years jailed, defense asked for 'time served' Capitol Police special agent assigned to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's protection detail. "This day changed everything," said David Lazarus, the U.S. In tear-filled victim impact statements made Wednesday, law enforcement officers and congressional staffers conveyed palpable trauma they said would stay with them forever. were then prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution," Mehta said. but what we cannot have – what we absolutely cannot have – is a group of citizens who because they did not like the outcome of the election. "We can have disagreement about who is the better leader. Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case, strongly rebuked Rhodes' characterization of his conviction. "However long I spend in prison, my goal will be to be an American Solzhenitsyn to expose the criminality of this regime," Rhodes said, comparing himself to prominent Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and referencing the Biden administration. Sporting an orange jumpsuit and his signature eyepatch under wire frame glasses, Rhodes brazenly addressed the court before the sentence was handed down, calling himself a "political prisoner" with "preordained guilt from Day One." It's the first sentence passed down to a person found guilty of the rare, Civil War-era charge linked to the riot. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the right-wing militia group Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release Thursday after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. Watch Video: Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison
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