Jury convicts Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy in landmark Jan. 6 verdict
A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and a deputy, Kelly Meggs, guilty of seditious conspiracy and other felonies Tuesday for plotting to use force to stop President Biden from taking office. The convictions were a major victory for the Justice Department in its sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Rhodes, 56, and Meggs, 53, are the first Jan. 6 defendants convicted of seditious conspiracy by a jury, although at least three Oath Keepers and one Proud Boy have pleaded guilty to the rarely used Civil War-era crime. The verdicts, reached after a nine-week trial and three days of jury deliberation, also mark the first time a jury has found that the Jan. 6 violence was the product of an organized conspiracy, The New York Times notes.
The jury acquitted three other defendants in the trial — Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell — of seditious conspiracy but convicted them on various lesser felony charges.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
All five defendants could spend decades in jail — Rhodes faces a maximum sentence of 60 years, 20 of them for seditious conspiracy; Meggs faces 86 years; Watkins, 56 years; Harrelson, 46 years; and Caldwell, 40 years — when U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentences them on a to-be-determined date. Their actual sentences will almost certainly be much shorter, and lawyers for Rhodes and other defendants said they will appeal the verdicts.
The Justice Department has now "secured felony convictions against all 19 Jan. 6 defendants who have gone to trial on felony counts," The Washington Post reports. About 450 of the roughly 900 people charged in the Jan. 6 siege have pleaded guilty, and there could be "scores, if not hundreds, of additional arrests" still to come, the Times reports.
Tuesday's jury verdict "confirms" that the Jan. 6 attack "was a planned, organized, violent assault on the lawful authority of the U.S. government and the peaceful transfer of power," former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason tells the Post. "Now the only remaining question is how much higher did those plans go, and who else might be held criminally responsible." Five other Oath Keepers and, separately, the leaders of the Proud Boys are going on trial in December on seditious conspiracy charges.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The drive behind Germany's pro-Israel political consensus
Under the Radar Belief that Israel's security is a 'raison d'etre for the German republic' is under growing pressure
By The Week UK Published
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cubans rally for 'power and food' in rare protests
Speed Read The protests came after 18-hour rolling blackouts and food supply shortages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published