Oath Keepers leader to stay jailed until Capitol riot trial [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

A federal judge refused Friday to free Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from jail while he awaits trial on charges that he plotted with other members of his far-right militia group to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said federal prosecutors have presented “compelling if not strong” evidence against Rhodes, who has been the group’s leader since its 2009 founding. Rhodes poses a “clear and convincing danger” to the public, the judge said during a remote hearing.

“His ability to communicate, organize are his greatest weapons,” Mehta said, calling Rhodes an “extremely sophisticated individual.”

Rhodes and 10 other people linked to the Oath Keepers are the first to be charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol. Four other Oath Keepers defendants charged with seditious conspiracy remain jailed pending a trial set for July.



FILE - This photo, provided by the Collin County Sheriff's Office shows Stewart Rhodes. A federal judge refused on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, to free Oath Keepers founder Rhodes from jail while he awaits trial on charges that he plotted with other members of his far-right militia group to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory. (Collin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-joe-biden-conspiracy-congress-257970b721700698a9b087e0532b1343