Factbox-Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy trial in U.S. Capitol
attack
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[September 20, 2022]
By Chris Gallagher
(Reuters) - Oath Keepers founder Stewart
Rhodes and four other defendants linked to the far-right militia group
are set to go on trial next week on charges of seditious conspiracy
arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by
then-President Donald Trump's supporters.
Here is a look at the defendants due to go on trial on Sept. 27 and the
charges they face.
STEWART RHODES
Rhodes, 57, of Granbury, Texas, is a former U.S. Army paratrooper turned
Yale University-educated lawyer. He is the founder and leader of the
Oath Keepers. The group, which contends the federal government is
encroaching on its rights, focuses on recruiting current and former
military, police and emergency service members, according to the Justice
Department.
Rhodes, as well as his co-defendants, is accused of conspiring to stop
the peaceful transfer of presidential power in a failed bid to block
Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the
2020 election. Rhodes and the other defendants face the rarely
prosecuted charge of seditious conspiracy, a felony carrying a maximum
sentence of 20 years in prison and defined as attempting "to overthrow,
put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States."
He and the other defendants also face charges that include obstruction
of an official proceeding and tampering with documents. Rhodes and the
others have pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment, Rhodes began encouraging his Oath Keepers
followers in November 2020 to "oppose by force the lawful transfer of
presidential power." Trump has made false claims that the election was
stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.
Rhodes set up a chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal in which
members planned to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, when Congress was
scheduled to certify Biden's victory, according to the indictment.
Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on firearms and related equipment
before and after Jan. 6, the indictment stated.
He entered restricted Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, directed Oath Keepers
members by text and telephone on what positions to take up around the
building, and continued plotting with co-conspirators after the attack,
according to the indictment.
THOMAS CALDWELL
Caldwell, 68, of Berryville, Virginia, helped coordinate preparation for
what the Oath Keepers called quick reaction force, or QRF, teams, which
were ready to rapidly transport weapons into Washington from just
outside the city to support operations around the Capitol, according to
the indictment.
The indictment said Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander
who once worked for the FBI, took a reconnaissance trip into Washington
in November 2020, chose a hotel in suburban Arlington, Virginia, as the
quick reaction force's base of operations, and mapped routes to the
Capitol from the hotel.
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![](../images/092022PIX/news_k85.jpg)
Police clear the U.S. Capitol Building
with tear gas as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather
outside, in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie
Keith/File Photo
During the Jan. 6 attack, Caldwell joined with others in pushing
past barricades and climbing stairs to a balcony in a restricted
area on the west side of the Capitol building, according to the
indictment.
Caldwell has denied he was a member of the Oath Keepers but
prosecutors have said he has strong ties to the group.
KELLY MEGGS
Meggs, 53, of Dunnellon, Florida, was the head of the Florida
chapter of the Oath Keepers and led a first group of members into
the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment.
Meggs and other Oath Keepers members, many wearing paramilitary
clothing and patches with the Oath Keepers insignia, marched in an
organized military fashion up the east steps of the Capitol and
stormed through a heavy set of doors into the building alongside a
mob, the indictment said.
KENNETH HARRELSON
Harrelson, 41, of Titusville, Florida, helped Meggs in organizing
the Florida Oath Keepers and was part of the militia group that
stormed into the Capitol building, according to the indictment.
These members pushed forward as part of a mob that "assaulted law
enforcement officers guarding the doors, threw objects and sprayed
chemicals toward the officers and the doors, and pulled violently on
the doors," the indictment added. Harrelson and others later moved
toward the House of Representatives chamber in search of Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, but did not find her, it said.
JESSICA WATKINS
Watkins, 40, of Woodstock, Ohio, led the Ohio team of Oath Keepers
at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment. The
Afghanistan war veteran charged into the building with other members
and commanded those around her to push against a line of officers
guarding the hallway to the Senate chamber, before retreating when
officers used a chemical spray, the indictment says.
Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins also face charges of destruction of
government property due to damage done at the Capitol building,
according to the indictment.
PREVIOUS DEFENDANTS
Three other Oath Keepers defendants - Joshua James, Brian Ulrich and
William Todd Wilson - pleaded guilty this year to engaging in
seditious conspiracy in connection with the attack. They are
awaiting sentencing and could potentially be called as witnesses at
the trial.
(Reporting by Will Dunham)
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