The US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 11 people on Wednesday in connection with the Capitol riot on Jan 6, 2021. These people, including Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, are now facing charges of seditious conspiracy.
This is the first time this type of charge has been brought against any of the January 6 defendants. It only came after questioning of DOJ Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen revealed that no one had been charged for "insurrection" in connection with Jan. 6.
The indictment was handed down by a grand jury on Wednesday, with the details being released to the public on Thursday. The indictment alleges that Rhodes and others conspired to "oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force, by preventing, hindering, or delaying by force execution of laws governing the transfer of power."
According to CNN, in the days and weeks immediately following the November 2020 presidential elections, Rhodes sent messages on Signal saying things that include:
"We aren't going through this without civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body and spirit," and "There is no standard political or legal way out of this."
The court document also alleges that Thomas Caldwell, another Oath Keeper, claimed to have undertaken a reconnaissance trip before Jan 6 2021. Furthermore, it alleges that the defendants had made a cache of weapons in a nearby Virginia hotel.
On the actual day of Jan 6 2021, Rhodes fired out another message on Signal saying ""All I see Trump doing is complaining. I see no intent by him to do anything. So the patriots are taking it into their own hands. They've had enough."
This message appears to have been sent at 1:38 pm, while Trump was still speaking to his audience and the storming of the Capitol had already begun.
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