Oath Keepers called for a ‘violent overthrow’

Prosecutors paint Jan. 6 rebellion as dangerous

WASHINGTON — For weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates discussed using violence to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and when rioters started storming the Capitol, they saw an opportunity to do it, a federal prosecutor told jurors Friday as the seditious conspiracy case wound toward a close.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said in her closing argument to jurors after nearly two months of testimony that Rhodes’ own words show he was preparing to lead a rebellion to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House. Rhodes and his co-defendants repeatedly called for “violent overthrow” of the U.S. government and sprang into action on Jan. 6, she said.

“Our democracy is fragile. It cannot exist without respect for the rule of law, and it will not survive if people dissatisfied with the results of an election can use force and violence to change the outcome,” Rakoczy said.

The closing arguments began in Washington federal court after the final pieces of evidence were presented in the trial alleging Rhodes and his band of anti-government extremists plotted for weeks to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power from Republican Donald Trump to Biden.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations Monday, after closing statements from the defense conclude.

Rhodes’ attorney sought to downplay his violent rhetoric in the run-up to Jan. 6, describing it as “venting” and insisting there was no agreement or conspiracy.

Defense attorney James Lee Bright said Rhodes’ language was focused on persuading Trump to invoke the

Insurrection Act over what he saw as a stolen election.

Rhodes “wasn’t hiding his opinions, he wasn’t hiding any plans,” Bright told jurors. He was “as open as daylight with every plan on what he was asking President Trump to do.”

Evidence presented by prosecutors shows Rhodes and his co-defendants discussing the prospect of violence and the need to keep Biden out of the White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, before stashing a cache of weapons referred to as a “quick reaction force” at a Virginia hotel across the Potomac River.

In testimony earlier this week, Jessica Watkins, an Ohio bar owner, took the the stand to testify in her defense in a decision that surprised even the judge.

Watkins, an Army veteran who has been locked up since her arrest nearly two years ago, testified that she never intended to interfere with Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Watkins recalled consuming a “steady diet” of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ “Infowars” show, which pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. She called herself “just another idiot” in the mob on Jan. 6 and likened the scene outside the Capitol to a Black Friday sale.

Another defendant charged in the case, Thomas Caldwell, 68, played down his message about ferrying “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River, calling it “creative writing” in testimony.

Caldwell, 68, said he was never serious about trying to secure a boat to transport weapons across the river from a massive “quick reaction force” arsenal that Oath Keepers had stashed in a hotel room.

On cross-examination, prosecutors showed messages that appeared to contradict his testimony, including his statement that he didn’t witness any violence when he and his wife entered Capitol grounds on Jan. 6.

Stewart Rhodes