DOJ Issues First Conspiracy Charges for U.S. Capitol Attack
Jason Andrew, the New York Times
Last week, the Department of Justice revealed federal prosecutors have charged Stewart Rhodes, leader of the far-right anti-government militia Oath Keepers, and 10 others with seditious conspiracy for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The recently unsealed indictment states that Rhodes and his co-defendants brought small arms to the district; engaged in combat training to prepare for the attack; and devised plans to stage quick-reaction forces to support insurrectionists.
Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law at Harvard University Laurence Tribe has described seditious conspiracy as a sibling to treason, as the charges overlap. The charges confirm that the Department of Justice (DOJ) feels it can demonstrate the perpetrators of the Capitol siege intended to overturn the election, prevent the lawful transition of power, and undermine American democracy.
The Department has made a significant step forward in linking the physical acts perpetrated on January 6 with charges—a shift Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has previously alluded to.
“When you're talking about seditious conspiracy, you're talking about something that’s planned, premeditated and purposeful,” stated Bruce Hoffman, Tenured Professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, “It’s significant because rarely used, and that reflects the gravity of the charges and the difficulties of proving it in court. It's elevating the entire insurrection onto a different level where it becomes very difficult to deny. It underscores how serious it was and puts it in the realm of terrorism.”
The indictment illustrates how a group of 19 members entered the Capitol in search of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, wearing paramilitary gear and positioned in stack formation. Army Special Forces, among other tactical units, employ stack formations for assaults on buildings since it "ensures there are no blind spots for forward-facing soldiers."
Furthermore, the report details how Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on weapons both before and after the riot and coordinated with a "quick reaction force" in Virginia that was waiting to hear whether weapons should be brought into Washington, D.C. Prosecutors allege that Rhodes and his alleged co-conspirators discussed possible actions to prevent then President-Elect Biden from taking office frequently in the weeks before the 2020 election.
“We aren't getting through this without a civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body, spirit," stated Rhodes to his co-conspirators on the encrypted messaging app Signal, "It will be a bloody and desperate fight. We are going to have a fight. That can't be avoided.”
According to Lawfare, the last defendants charged with seditious conspiracy were in 2010 when federal prosecutors alleged the Hutaree militia group intended to inspire a nationwide uprising during a funeral procession by setting off explosives, killing a police officer, and assaulting law enforcement. In 2012, a federal judge dismissed the case, stating the evidence clearly demonstrated that something was amiss, but did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants reached a concrete agreement to forcibly overthrow the U.S. government.
Seditious conspiracy is punishable by 20 years in federal prison if convicted.