Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years in prison on Jan. 6 charges

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Oath Keepers extremist group founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 18 years in prison in what marks the longest jail term handed down in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Rhodes, 58, remained defiant during his sentencing hearing, calling himself a "political prisoner" as US District Judge Amit Mehta imposed the sentence, according to multiple reports.

The jail term falls significantly short of the 25 years sought by prosecutors after a jury found Rhodes guilty in November of seditious conspiracy for leading a plot intended to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden after he bested ex-President Donald Trump in the 2020 White House race.

The far-right militia leader has remained unrepentant, talking of "regime change" during a phone call with supporters this week.

"You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and to the republic and to the very fabric of this democracy," Mehta said, according to NBC News. “You are not a political prisoner, Mr. Rhodes."

Prosecutors said Rhodes entered restricted areas of the Capitol but not the building itself as lawmakers were carrying out their constitutional duties to certify election results ahead of Biden's inauguration.

He also coordinated other smaller groups of Oath Keepers who were staged just outside Washington, D.C. as armed “quick reaction forces” (QRF), prosecutors said. Those teams were positioned to rapidly transport guns and other weapons into the nation's capital if they were to be needed.

Seditious conspiracy is the most serious charge put forward by the Justice Department to date and the convictions of Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Oath Keepers' Florida branch, in November marked a major victory for the agency.

Mehta sentenced Meggs to 12 years behind bars later Thursday. Unlike Rhodes, Meggs voiced regret for his actions in the courtroom, apologizing for participating in a riot that left a "black eye on the country,” according to The Associated Press.