The seditious conspiracy trial of the leader of the fascist paramilitary group Oath Keepers Elmer Stewart Rhodes is proceeding in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., and nearly every day there's a new revelation about the sinister group's activities before, during and after the seditious coup attempt on January 6. According to testimony, Rhodes, the eye-patch wearing demagogue who imagines himself a descendant of Revolutionary War patriots, was eager to foment continued violence after the coup was put down:
"Four days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes tried to tell President Donald Trump it was not too late to use paramilitary groups to stay in power by force, according to testimony Wednesday in federal court.
If he did not, protesters 'should have brought rifles' to Washington, and 'we could have fixed it right then and there,' Rhodes said during a Jan. 10 recorded meeting, boasting that he would have killed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Rhodes made the violent comments at a meeting in Texas with Jason Alpers, who described himself on the witness stand as a military veteran and co-founder of Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG). [snip]
On the stand, Alpers said he had an 'indirect' line to Trump’s 'inner circle,' without elaborating.
That apparent relationship is why Rhodes wanted to meet, Alpers testified. He said he recorded the meeting to accurately 'provide information to President Trump.' What he got, he said, disturbed him enough to eventually go to the FBI." (our emphasis)
Rhodes also pushed the idea of the Malignant Loser invoking the "Insurrection Act" to enable his and other fascist militias to overturn the 2020 election under its imprimatur, which the Malignant Loser didn't follow through on:
"As he had publicly before Jan. 6, Rhodes repeatedly said Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act, which he believed would allow militia groups to block President Biden from taking office. [snip]
And if he had known on Jan. 6 that Trump would never invoke the Insurrection Act, Rhodes said, he would have gone further that day — including assassinating a Democratic leader.
'If he’s not going to do the right thing, and he’s just gonna let himself be removed illegally, then we should have brought rifles,' Rhodes says on the recording. 'We could have fixed it right then and there. I’d hang f----ing Pelosi from the lamppost.'” (our emphasis)
The importance of convicting Rhodes and his fellow violent seditionists and sentencing them to long terms in prison cannot be over emphasized. He can't be reformed or changed because violent right-wing extremism is all he knows and all he wants to know. If anyone is a clear and present danger to our democracy, it's Elmer Stewart Rhodes and his fellow extremists.
