Oath Keeper who stormed Capitol gets 4-plus years

A member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group who was part of a security detail for former President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone before storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Thursday to more than four years in prison.

Roberto Minuta, seen on video guarding Stone hours before the riot Jan. 6, 2021, was among six Oath Keeper members convicted by jurors of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a violent plot to stop the transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

Minuta is the third Oath Keeper to receive his punishment for seditious conspiracy — the most serious charge the Justice Department has brought in the Capitol attack.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced last week to 18 years behind bars — the longest sentence handed down so far in hundreds of Capitol riot cases. Kelly Meggs, who led the group's Florida chapter, was sentenced to 12 years.

Minuta told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta that he is ashamed of his actions, disavows the Oath Keepers and was “repulsed” by the lack of remorse Rhodes showed at his own sentencing.

“My emotions got the best of me, and I'm deeply apologetic, your honor,” he told Mehta. “I was misled and naïve.”

Before handing down the sentence of four years and six months, the judge told Minuta that the law doesn't permit anybody to “gather up arms to battle your government.”

“This is not about politics. This is not about your beliefs. It's about your conduct,” Mehta said.

Minuta, who owned a New York tattoo shop, was in communication Jan. 6 with Rhodes, who described Minuta in a message as one of his “most trusted men,” according to federal prosecutors. Minuta purchased 5,500 rounds of ammunition as Jan. 6 approached, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said he hasn't shown true remorse, noting that Minuta took to social media after his arrest to slam the investigation as politically motivated and referred to Jan. 6 defendants as “POLITICAL PRISONERS.” A fundraiser page that was linked to his Twitter page said the government “has been weaponized to destroy dissidents.”

“That's his worldview,” Justice Department prosecutor Troy Edwards said. “Mr. Minuta is a danger to himself and to his republic because of his worldview.”

Lawyers for the Oath Keepers say there was never any plot to storm the Capitol or stop the transfer of power.

Minuta's attorney, William Shipley, said his client came to Washington to serve in the Oath Keepers' personal security detail for Stone and “had no intention or plan to engage in any other activity.”

Shipley said Minuta's actions Jan. 6 were “regrettable” and “idiotic.”

“But worthy of a multiyear prison sentence? I don't think so,” he added.

Minuta was among several people in Oath Keepers gear seen flanking Stone on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.