Four Oath Keepers convicted of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Four members of the Oath Keepers were convicted Monday of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack in the second major trial of far-right extremists accused of plotting to forcibly keep President Donald Trump in power.
The verdict against Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, Texas; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix, comes weeks after after a different jury convicted the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, in the mob’s attack that halted the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
It’s another major victory for the Justice Department, which is also trying to secure sedition convictions against the former leader of the Proud Boys and four associates. The trial against Enrique Tarrio and his lieutenants opened earlier this month in Washington and is expected to last several weeks.
They are some of the most serious cases brought so far in the sweeping Jan. 6 investigation, which continues to grow two years after the riot. The Justice Department has brought nearly 1,000 cases and the tally increases by the week.
Defense attorneys sought to downplay violent messages as mere bluster and said the Oath Keepers came to Washington to provide security at events before the riot. They seized on prosecutors’ lack of evidence that the Oath Keepers had an explicit plan to storm the Capitol before Jan. 6 and told jurors that the extremists who attacked the Capitol acted spontaneously like thousands of other rioters.
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Richer reported from Boston.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington on June 25, 2017. Rhodes formally launched the Oath Keepers in Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 2009, where the first shot in the American Revolution was fired.
Tasha Adams
This image provided by Tasha Adams shows Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes wearing camouflage gear in a training camp in Idaho. (Tasha Adams via AP)
Tasha Adams
This image provided by Tasha Adams shows Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes speaking at a parade in Kalispell, Mont., on July 4, 2013. (Tasha Adams via AP)
Tasha Adams
This image provided by Tasha Adams shows Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes with Oath Keepers members in California in 2014. (Tasha Adams via AP)
Andrew Harnik
A video showing Stewart Rhodes speaking during an interview with the Jan. 6 Committee is shown at the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, hearing June 9, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Jacquelyn Martin
Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesman for the Oath Keepers, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 12, 2022. A membership fee was a requirement to access the website, where people could join discussion forums, read Stewart Rhodes' writing and hear pitches to join militaristic trainings. Members willing to go armed to a standoff numbered in the low dozens, though, said Jason Van Tatenhove. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Susan Walsh
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, center, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Tasha Adams
This image provided by Tasha Adams shows an Oath Keepers sign in the yard of a home outside Eureka, Mont., in 2013. (Tasha Adams via AP)
