The leader and founder of the violent, extreme right-wing group the so-called Oath Keepers, Stewart "Bumpy" Rhodes, was arrested by the FBI today after a Federal grand jury indicted him on a charge of seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6 insurrection. He is one of 10 Oath Keepers that have reportedly been indicted on seditious conspiracy charges.
This is significant in the sense that Rhodes and his cohort leadership have been prominent, along with other radical, brownshirt-type groups like the "Proud Boys," as the fighting arm of the Trumpist cult, especially leading up to and after the 2020 election. The charges bode ill for the leaders of those similar groups, and potentially for the higher profile planners and instigators (i.e., Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Don Jr., etc.). More on Rhodes' arrest:
"Rhodes was arrested Thursday, after a federal grand jury leveled new charges focusing on what prosecutors say is a core group of Oath Keepers adherents who allegedly planned for and participated in obstructing Congress on the day lawmakers certified President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Charges are expected to be unsealed later Thursday."
"Seditious conspiracy" is a more serious charge than some of the misdemeanor and felony assault charges leveled against the January 6 rioters. Here's the legal citation:
18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious Conspiracy
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. (our emphasis)
Lock. Him. Up. And the rest of them, too.
BONUS:
Good to see DOJ moving up the ladder, but going after the crime that can be established without proof of force or violence — the failed conspiracy to get officials like the VP to overturn the electoral vote count — needn’t start on the lower rungs. https://t.co/7sAAb6IoG0
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 13, 2022
(photo: "Aarrg matey, I'm heading to prison."Aaron C. Davis, Washington Post via Getty Images)
