Stewart Rose: Far-Right Oath Keepers Leader Sentenced to 18 Years in Capitol Riot | US News

The founder of a far-right extremist group has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for inciting his followers to participate in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rose was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and was convicted. He is the first person to be indicted and sentenced for riot-related charges.

The judgment is the longest among hundreds of judgments ever handed down. Riot at the Capitol Case.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta He told Rose that he wanted the country’s democracy to “escalate into violence” and that he was a continuing threat to the United States.

Mr Rose claimed he never asked anyone to enter the Capitol, nor did he himself enter the Capitol on January 6. Calling himself a “political prisoner”, he likened himself: donald trump.

“My only crime is standing up against those who want to destroy our country,” Rose said just before the judge handed down her sentence.

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His attorney plans to appeal the conviction and said prosecutors were unfairly trying to make him the “face” of January 6.

Attorney Philip Linder told the judge that Rose could have brought more Orthkeepers to the Capitol “if they really wanted to.”

Messages, recordings and other evidence presented at his trial indicated that Rose and his followers became increasingly enraged after the incident. 2020 election with the prospect of Biden They viewed the presidency as a threat to the country.

In an encrypted chat two days after the election, Rose called on his supporters to prepare their “mind, body and spirit” for “civil war.”

A few days later, on a conference call, Rose urged supporters to tell Trump they were “ready to die” for their country.

By Thursday, the longest sentence in more than 1,000 Capitol riots was 14 years in prison for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and chairs as they stormed the Capitol.

Another oathkeeper, Kelly Megs, who was convicted along with Rose in November, was due to be sentenced later.

Four other members convicted of a sedition conspiracy will be sentenced next week, while another two, who were acquitted of sedition but convicted of other charges, will be sentenced on Friday. is to be handed down.

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Founded in 2009, the Oathkeepers Group promotes the belief that the federal government is depriving its citizens of their civil liberties and gives its followers the will to defend themselves against what the group calls oppression.