The Oath Keepers accuse prosecutors of twisting their words and insist there was never any plan to attack the U.S. Capitol. They say they were in Washington to provide security at events for figures such as Trump ally Roger Stone before Trump's big outdoor rally near the White House on Jan. 6
FILE - Members of the Oath Keepers stand on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
Authorities allege that Rhodes and his band of extremists would spend the next several weeks amassing weapons, organizing paramilitary training and readying armed teams outside Washington with a singular goal: stopping Joe Biden from becoming president. Despite nearly 900 arrests and hundreds of convictions in the riot, Rhodes and four Oath Keeper associates -- Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell -- are the first to stand trial on the rare and difficult-to-prove charge of seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors will try to show that the insurrection for the Oath Keepers was not a spur-of-the-moment protest but part of a serious, weekslong plot to stop the transfer of power.
"The Government would like this Court to believe that is sedition, when in fact, it is the opposite. It is loyalty to an oath taken in defense of the Country."Rhodes founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 and it has grown into one of the largest anti-government groups in U.S. history. It recruits past and present members of the military, first responders and police officers, and promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties.
Some Oath Keepers would stay outside Washington but be "prepared to go in armed if they have to," Rhodes said on the call. If they failed to "save" the country, Rhodes predicted there would be "a bloody, bloody civil war." By December, Rhodes and the Oath Keepers had set their sights on Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, prosecutors say.
On Dec. 23, Rhodes published an open letter on the Oath Keepers website declaring that "tens of thousands of patriot Americans, both veterans and nonveterans" would be in Washington. Many would have their "mission-critical gear stowed nearby just outside D.C," he wrote, warning that they might have to "take to arms in defense of our God given liberty."
On Jan. 5, Meggs and the Florida Oath Keepers brought gun boxes, rifle cases and suitcases filled with ammunition to the Virginia hotel where the "quick reaction force" teams would be on standby, according to prosecutors. A team from Arizona brought weapons, ammunition, and supplies to last 30 days, according to court papers. A team from North Carolina had rifles in a vehicle parked in the hotel lot, prosecutors have said.
Rhodes isn't accused of going inside the Capitol but was seen huddled with members outside after the riot. Rhodes and others then walked to the nearby Phoenix Park Hotel, prosecutors say.
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