Steward Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers and leader of a far-right militia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday by a federal judge for his role in leading a seditious conspiracy to distract the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory that ended in a fierce attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Rhodes received the longest sentence to date among defendants charged in connection with the Capitol assault.

In a Jan. 6 case, D.C. District Judge Amit Mehta deviated from previous rulings and agreed with the government’s recommendation to apply a terrorism enhancement in the Rhodes sentencing.

A Serious Case vs Rhodes

Mehta concurred with prosecutors, stating that Rhodes had encouraged violence among his followers to disrupt the certification process, which legally constituted terrorism intended to influence the government’s actions.

Mehta pointed out the significant arsenal of weapons amassed by the Oath Keepers just outside Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, along with the instructions Rhodes gave for members to delete incriminating messages after the assault on the Capitol.

“You, sir, pose an ongoing threat and danger to this country,” Mehta stated before delivering the sentence.

Before the sentence was pronounced, Rhodes chose to address Mehta defiantly, maintaining his innocence and portraying himself as a “political prisoner,” much like President Trump.

He claimed that his only wrongdoing was opposing those responsible for the country’s destruction.

This decision marked the first successful seditious conspiracy conviction by a jury since 1995.

What is seditious conspiracy?

As per the definition stated under 18 U.S. Code § 2384, it is an act where “If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.”

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