More than 20 months after the assault on the United States Capitol by supporters of then President Donald Trump, the opening statements in the sedition trial of several members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, including its founder Stewart Rhodes, who risk 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Rhodes, a former military man known for his eye patch and fiery tirades, and four regional group leaders are accused of attacking Congress in Washington on January 6, 2021 in order to keep Trump in the White House despite of his electoral defeat.
That day, the five stormed the temple of American democracy along with another 1,000 supporters instigated by the Republican president himselfat a time when congressmen certified the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections.
The defendants were this Monday in the room where they are judged.
Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson are the first to stand trial on this charge.
His lawyers are expected to argue that they did not want to bring down the government but hoped that Trump would declare a state of insurrection.under an 1807 law that allows US presidents to mobilize certain armed forces in exceptional circumstances.
The jurors were selected last week after Judge Amit Mehta denied a defense request to move the trial out of Washington, arguing that residents may be biased against the defendants because of the violence unleashed in the attack.
Rhodes’ attorney also asked the magistrate to prohibit the use of terms frequently used to refer to the Oath Keepers, such as “anti-government”, “organized militia”, “extremists”, “racists” and “nationalists” during the trial. whites,” reported the AFP news agency.
Since the coup that caused a powerful worldwide noise and left five dead and numerous wounded, more than 870 people were arrested while about 100 received prison sentences, including perpetrators of violence against the police.
But until now no one had had to face the accusation of “sedition”, that is, the uprising of people against a government in order to overthrow it or oppose one of its laws.
Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson are the first to stand trial on this charge.
Trump promised pardons and apologies to those who participated in the attack if he becomes president again.
Punished with 20 years in prison, it differs from the insurrection, which has a more spontaneous character.
According to the indictment, the defendants “conspired to oppose by force the legal transfer of presidential power.”
Rhodes is accused of having started recruiting militiamen in November 2020.
“We are not going to get out of this without a civil war,” he wrote to them two days after the presidential election, in an encrypted message.
Last month, Trump promised pardons and apologies to those who participated in the attack if he becomes president again.
Shortly after, a former police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having participated in the event, in the most serious sentence handed down to date.
