A federal jury in Washington has reached a verdict in the seditious conspiracy trial of five members of the right-wing Oath Keepers organization charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was on trial alongside Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell; Caldwell was the only one of the five who was not detained while awaiting trial. All five defendants faced felony counts of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging their duties. Watkins also faced a count of civil disorder and aiding and abetting because, as she admitted on the stand, she helped push against officers inside the Capitol.
The seditious conspiracy case is the most serious to grow out of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack, and the trial lasted for nearly two months. Opening statements in the trial began Oct. 3, and the jury started deliberating Nov. 22. Three of the defendants — Rhodes, Caldwell and Watkins — took the stand in their own defense, with Rhodes telling jurors it was “stupid” for Oath Keepers to go inside the Capitol.
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