The founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, one of the leading organizations of the American far right, was arrested today for his role in the attack on the Capitol, the US Department of Justice announced.
Stuart Rhodes, 56, and ten other members of the organization were prosecuted yesterday for “insurgency”, the ministry clarified in a press release. This is the most serious accusation made so far against the participants in the attack on the headquarters of the Congress, on January 6, 2021.
Nine of them had already been arrested and were facing prosecution for “setting up a criminal organization” with the aim of obstructing a formal process or inciting violence.
The charge of “mutiny”, which carries a sentence of 20 years in prison, is broader. According to the indictment, Stuart Rhodes “collaborated” with some of his co-accused “with the aim of preventing the peaceful transfer of power”, mainly “through the use of force”.
“They organized the movement from all over the country to Washington, they were equipped with all kinds of weapons, they were dressed in military clothes and they were ready to answer the call to Rhodes’ weapons,” the document said.
At the time of the attack, Stuart Rhodes, a former soldier who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, was near the Capitol, but it is not certain that he entered inside.
In addition to Rhodes, law enforcement arrested today in Arizona another member of the far right, 63-year-old Edward Vallejo.
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