Federal prosecutors shared in court on Tuesday audio of an alleged Oath Keepers planning meeting, in which the right-wing militia discussed plans to "fight" at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, CNN reports.
Five alleged group members, including leader Stewart Rhodes, are standing trial in a Washington, D.C. federal court after pleading not guilty to Jan. 6-related charges, including seditious conspiracy.
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.
Prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler had told jurors that an "increasingly alarmed follower" secretly recorded the two-hour meeting, which occured in November 2020, before sharing the recording with authorities. Palian stated that the informant initially sent the tip in November but had to resubmit the tip to the FBI again in March 2021, per CNN. On day two of the trial, Palian told jurors he was unaware if anyone had reached out to the tipster between the two submissions, The Washington Post reports.
The recording reveals how group members discussed bringing weapons to Washington, D.C. in their efforts to storm the Capitol on behalf of former President Donald Trump. On the recorded call, Rhodes can be heard telling the group of over a hundred people, "We've got to be in D.C. … You've got to make sure that [Trump] knows that you are willing to die, to fight for this country." He also encouraged listeners to them to arm themselves, per the Post.
-
6 homes for entertainingFeature Featuring a heated greenhouse in Pennsylvania and a glamorous oasis in California
-
Obesity drugs: Will Trump’s plan lower costs?Feature Even $149 a month, the advertised price for a starting dose of a still-in-development GLP-1 pill on TrumpRx, will be too big a burden for the many Americans ‘struggling to afford groceries’
-
The ‘Kavanaugh stop’Feature Activists say a Supreme Court ruling has given federal agents a green light to racially profile Latinos
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
‘The business ultimately has a customer base to answer to’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
