Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes Sentenced to 18 Years for Seditious Conspiracy

The founder of the right-wing extremist group, the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was finally sentenced last Thursday for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He will now be spending 18 years in prison over his actions that led to the January 6 Capitol insurrection, which his group took part in.

The charge of seditious conspiracy was rarely proven in the United States, but when Rhodes and his Oath Keepers associates were found guilty, they made history as the first to be convicted of the crime for the January 6 insurrection, according to the Associated Press.

The Oath Keepers, along with fellow pro-Trump far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys, fought to keep then-President Donald Trump in power and urged several Trump supporters to storm the Capitol and disrupt Congressional proceedings, particularly the announcement of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential elections. Much like the Oath Keepers, leaders of the Proud Boys were also found guilty of seditious conspiracy.

Following the sentencing decision, Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement saying, "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."

Judge Says Oath Keepers' Actions During January 6 Amounted to Terrorism

For the first time, a Judge agreed with the Justice Department that the actions of a January 6 perpetrator should be punished as "terrorism." This was because District Judge Amit Mehta increased Rhodes's punishment as he found that the right-wing leader's actions amounted to domestic terrorism.

"What we absolutely cannot have is a group of citizens who - because they did not like the outcome of an election, who did not believe the law was followed as it should be - foment revolution," said the judge in his decision and added that Rhodes poses "an ongoing threat and peril to our democracy and the fabric of this country."

According to CNN, the judge found that Rhodes did not express any remorse for his actions and continued to become a threat to the country. The judge pointed out that it was Stewart Rhodes who was organizing the teams of Oath Keepers during January 6 and that the members would not be there if it were not for Rhodes.

"He was the one who gave the order to go, and they went," the judge concluded.

Seditious Conspiracy Was Hard To Prove Before Oath Keepers Case

The law regarding seditious conspiracy in the United States is quite broad, as it is concerned with attempts to overthrow the government; levy war against it; or prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law. So far, it had been hard to prove, though in the case of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the evidence was so clear.

The Guardian pointed out that because the charge carries so much political weight, prosecutors are generally hesitant to use it. The last time the law was successfully used was when Islamist extremist Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine co-conspirators were charged with seditious conspiracy over the plot to bomb the UN headquarters in New York.

Most seditious conspiracy cases have fallen apart ever since, including one against the Christian far-right Hutaree militia.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 role - ABC News