The Department of Justice on Thursday charged Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the right-wing group the Oath Keepers, and 10 others with “seditious conspiracy” linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Mr. Rhodes, 56, of Granbury, Texas, is being charged for the first time in connection with the Capitol attack. He was arrested this morning in Little Elm, Texas.
“The seditious conspiracy indictment alleges that, following the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, Rhodes conspired with his co-defendants and others to oppose by force the execution of the laws governing the transfer of presidential power by Jan. 20, 2021,” the DOJ said in a press release.
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The department claims they began to conspire in December 2020 using encrypted and private communication applications to coordinate plans to travel to Washington D.C. on or around Jan. 6.
“Rhodes and several co-conspirators made plans to bring weapons to the area to support the operation,” the press release states. “The co-conspirators then traveled across the country to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in early January 2021.”