WI State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) | Twitter/Senator Chris Larson
WI State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) | Twitter/Senator Chris Larson
Wisconsin state Sen. Chris Larson is adding his approving voice to a federal jury’s guilty verdict against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and a top deputy of seditious conspiracy in connection with an ongoing plot to unleash political violence aimed at blocking the inauguration of President Biden, ultimately sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“Glad to see accountability for those responsible for the attack on our Capitol,” Larson recently posted on Twitter.
Along with top associate Kelly Meggs, the Washington Post reports Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, with prosecutors establishing before the court that the two spent months planning the violent attacks. Though found not guilty of the more serious charge of sedition, three other members of the right-wing, militant group, along with Rhodes and Meggs, were also found guilty of charges that included obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting for their actions.
According to NBC News, the seditious conspiracy charges come with a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Throughout the proceedings, attorneys for Rhodes argued that he and other defendants only brought weapons with them on their trip to Washington in the event then President Donald Trump agreed to mobilize private militias to prevent Biden from becoming president, which many Oath Keepers members had openly demanded. He added many of them on hand had come to the nation’s capital as bodyguards and peacekeepers for what they figured would be a tenuous time.
As the fallout from that day continues to be felt, the government has now secured felony convictions against all 19 Jan. 6 defendants who have gone to trial on felony counts, although juries hung on some charges in two cases. In all, roughly 900 people face federal charges stemming from the rioting, with in the neighborhood of half of them facing felonies that include assaulting police or obstructing a congressional proceeding.
About 450, roughly half of the overall n umber charged, have already pleaded guilty.
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