“Founder of Oath Keepers, Stuart Rhodes, Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for His Role in Jan. 6 Riot at U.S. Capitol”

A court in the United States has sentenced Stuart Rhodes, founder and leader of the ultra-right organization Oath Keepers, who led the actions of his supporters during the riots on January 6, 2021, to 18 years in prison, CNN reports. A jury earlier found Rhodes guilty of conspiring to mutiny to prevent a peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

According to the channel, this is the first sentence under this article in decades. It is also the most severe sentence in the case of the storming of the Capitol. Nevertheless, clarifies CNN, the prosecution requested even more for Rhodes – 25 years in prison.

In turn, judge Amit Mehta, who handed down the verdict, told Rhodes that he considered him a threat to the United States: “What we definitely cannot allow is groups of citizens who, because they did not like the results of the elections, start a revolution. This is exactly what you did. Dare I say, Mr. Rhodes – and I’ve never said this before – you are a constant threat to our democracy and the fabric of this country.”

At the same time, Rhodes pleaded not guilty, and before sentencing he stated that he was a political prisoner.

In addition to Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers in Florida, Kelly Meggs, was also sentenced to prison – his court sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump, who by that time had lost the election, but had not yet left the presidency of the United States, stormed the Congress building during the approval of the results of the presidential election. Trump himself called on his supporters to go to the Capitol. Five people died during the riots. More than 140 police officers were injured.

The investigation believes that the main forces behind the storming of the Capitol were the right-wing organizations Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Total for Congressional Assault Cases pass over a thousand people.