WASHINGTON (AP) — Four members of the Oath Keepers were convicted Monday of inflammatory conspiracy during the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, in the second major trial of far-right extremists accused of conspiring to forcibly keep President Donald Trump in power.
Verdict against Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; Roberto Minute of Prosper, Texas; David Merschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix comes weeks after another jury found group leader Stuart Rhodes guilty of a mob assault that prevented President Joe Biden’s electoral victory from being confirmed.
This is another major victory for the Justice Department, which is also seeking to convict the former Proud Boys leader and four associates of sedition. The trial of Enrique Tarrio and his aides began earlier this month in Washington and is expected to last several weeks.
Jurors in Washington deliberated for about 12 hours over three days before returning a guilty verdict on a rarely used charge that carries up to 20 years in prison. The four were also found guilty on two other charges of conspiracy as well as obstruction of a formal hearing: Congressional approval of the 2020 election. Minute, Hackett and Merschel were acquitted of lesser charges.
The judge did not immediately set a date for sentencing. The judge denied the prosecutor’s request to detain the men while they await sentencing, arguing that they were not in danger of escaping. They were ordered to remain under house arrest with electronic surveillance.
It was one of the most serious cases brought so far in the wide-ranging January 6 investigation, which continues to expand two years after the riots. Nearly 1,000 people have been charged by the Justice Department for the riots, and the number is increasing every week.
Prosecutors told jurors that Oathkeeper leader Stuart Rhodes and his gang of extremists began plotting an armed uprising shortly after the 2020 election to keep Trump in power. Reports show Rhodes and the Oathkeepers discussing the prospect of a “bloody” civil war and the need to keep Biden out of the White House.
“Our democracy was under attack, but for the defendants, this was all they prepared for and a moment to celebrate,” prosecutor Louis Manzo told jurors in his closing remarks.
Prosecutors alleged that the oathkeepers stockpiled the weapons and stashed them in a hotel in Virginia for so-called “rapid reaction force” teams that could quickly move the weapons to Washington to support their plot if they were needed. The weapon was never used.
Rhodes and Florida chapter head Kelly Meggs was found guilty of sedition in a previous trial that ended in November. They were the first people in decades to be found guilty at trial on Civil War charges. Three other oath-keepers in this case were acquitted of charges, but found guilty of other serious crimes. They are all awaiting sentencing.
Defense lawyers tried to downplay the violent reports as mere bragging and said Oathkeepers were in Washington to provide security at pre-riot events. They took advantage of prosecutors’ lack of evidence that the oathkeepers had an explicit plan to storm the Capitol prior to January 6, and told the jury that the extremists who attacked the Capitol acted spontaneously, like thousands of other rioters.
“They left evidence and chose what they wanted,” said William Lee Shipley, Minuta’s lawyer.
Prosecutors argued that while there is no evidence specifically laying out a plan to attack the Capitol, the oathkeepers saw the riots as a means to an end and acted on the obvious opportunity to help keep Trump in power.
Hackett, Merschel and other oathkeepers approached the Capitol in military-style formation before entering the building, prosecutors said. Minute and his group of the second group of Oathkeepers clashed with police after hearing Rhodes’ call to race to the Capitol, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Vallejo, a U.S. Army veteran and Rhodes ally, traveled from Arizona to prepare with the “QRF” — a rapid reaction force — at a hotel outside of Washington. The jury heard an audio recording of Vallejo talking about “declaring a guerrilla war” on the morning of 6 January.
Three other oath holders pleaded guilty to sedition and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the hope of a commuted sentence. They are among about 500 people who have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges.
____
Reacher reported from Boston.
