Oath Keeper ‘called for war with all of its horrors’ to oppose Biden’s election, prosecutor tells jurors
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oath Keepers’ founder Stewart Rhodes “called for war with all of its horrors and all of its violence” as the “architect” of a conspiracy to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power that included the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal prosecutor told a Washington jury.
“On Jan. 6 our democracy was under attack,” Assistant US Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said during closing arguments Friday in the trial of Rhodes and four others on seditious conspiracy charges. “For these defendants, it was ‘everything we trained for.’”
Rakoczy cited testimony by Rhodes during the seven-week trial to show that he was serious in his calls to oppose the government by force. She argued that Rhodes and his co-defendants believed they were “selfanointed” to uphold their version of the election and the law. For example, Rakoczy said Rhodes wanted Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to let the military and militia throw out the election results, in which President Joe Biden beat his predecessor Donald Trump.
“Mr. Rhodes told you in his own words he was prepared to start a rebellion the day that Biden took office,” Rakoczy said. “Rhodes admitted on that stand that is what he was going to do. What that tells you is that he was serious.”
James Bright, a defense lawyer for Rhodes, told jurors Friday that the evidence and testimony from 50 witnesses showed no plan to stop the transfer of power or attack the Capitol. He argued the Oath Keepers lacked coordination and suggested that members were “either the Keystone Cops of Insurrectionists or there was no Insurrection.”