#Kelly bailey half life opposing force trial#

The Proud Boys will be sentenced in August and September. Rhodes’ sentence may forecast what prosecutors will seek for former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy alongside other leaders of his far-right group this month for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to block the transfer of presidential power. Recruiting past and present members of the military and police officers, the group promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny. The convictions were a major blow for the Oath Keepers, which Rhodes founded in 2009 and grew into one of the largest far-right anti-government militia groups.

#Kelly bailey half life opposing force trial#

And four other members found guilty of seditious conspiracy at a second trial in January are scheduled to be sentenced next week. Two other Oath Keepers, acquitted of the sedition charge but convicted of other offenses, will be sentenced Friday. 6), you put it on Trump, right-wing media, politicians, all the people who spun that narrative,” Linder said.Īnother Oath Keeper convicted alongside Rhodes in November - Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs - was expected to receive his sentence later Thursday. Attorney Phillip Linder told the judge that Rhodes could have had many more Oath Keepers come to the Capitol “if he really wanted to” disrupt Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote. “Not defendant Rhodes.”Ī lawyer for Rhodes, who plans to appeal his conviction, said prosecutors are unfairly trying to make Rhodes “the face” of January 6. People “across the political spectrum” want to believe that Jan. In remarks just days ago, Rhodes called for “regime change,” the prosecutor said.

Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy pointed to interviews and speeches Rhodes has given from jail repeating the lie 2020 election was stolen and saying it would be again in 2024. Prosecutors argued that a lengthy sentence is necessary to deter future political violence. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed with prosecutors to apply enhanced penalties for “terrorism,” under the argument that the Oath Keepers sought to influence the government through “intimidation or coercion.” Judges in previous sentencings had shot down the Justice Department’s request for the so-called “terrorism enhancement” - which can lead to a longer prison term - but Mehta said it fits in Rhodes’ case. “I’m a political prisoner and like President Trump my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” Rhodes said. In remarks shortly before the judge handed down the sentence, Rhodes slammed the prosecution as politically motivated, noted that he never went inside the Capitol and insisted he never told anyone else to do so.

Prosecutors had sought 25 years for Rhodes, who they say was the architect of a plot to forcibly disrupt the transfer of presidential power that included “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel to ferry weapons into D.C. It was one of the most consequential cases brought by the Justice Department, which has sought to prove that the riot by right-wing extremists like the Oath Keepers was not a spur-of-the-moment protest but the culmination of weeks of plotting to overturn Biden’s election victory. “The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government,” U.S.