The founding leader of the far-right militia Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, has categorically denied any plans to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021, calling “stupid” those who stormed the US Congress to prevent the results from being certified. the 2020 presidential election.
“My goal was to make sure that no one got involved in that,” Rhodes told the parliamentary commission investigating the assault on Capitol Hill, according to Bloomberg.
The leader of Oath Keepers has stated that his group’s “mission” on January 6, 2021 was to provide security at Trump events and speakers, assuring that invading the Capitol “opened the door” for his political enemies to persecute
Rhodes, like four other members of the far-right militia, is accused of participating in plots using force to oppose the swearing-in of President Joe Biden, obstruct congressional confirmation of the 2020 election results, and prevent lawmakers from complying with his official duties, as reported by ‘The Washington Post’.
Some of the most compromising evidence for Rhodes, who had the audacity to compare himself to former South African President Nelson Mandela during the trial, reveals how the “only regret” he felt on January 6 was that he did not have enough weapons to take the power by force.
“We should have brought rifles. We could have fixed it right then and there. I would hang the fucking Pelosi from a lamppost,” Rhodes is heard saying in one of these audios that support the accusation of the United States Department of Justice, which requests for him and his sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
That of Rhodes and the rest of his cabal is the first trial in more than a decade against an American extremist group. In this case, the leadership of Oath Keepers is accused of trying to forcibly stop the confirmation by Congress of the victory of the president, Joe Biden, in the 2019 presidential elections.
There are already some members of Oath Keepers who have acknowledged these links in previous hearings and trials, such as Kellye SoRelle who revealed that she contacted the former White House adviser, Andrew Giuliani –son of Rudy Giuliani–, or William Todd Wilson, who recounted how Rhodes “repeatedly implored” to contact Trump to let him know they were ready to stop the peaceful transfer of office.
