STEWART RHODES

Also: Trump had dinner with Nick Fuentes? It's the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.

Making far-right leaders answer for their actions will deter future violence.

Far-right extremists or hate groups can claim they are just venting or even fantasizing, which would be protected under the First Amendment.

The Justice Dept. will weigh the conviction of Stewart Rhodes and a top deputy in deciding whether to pursue other high-profile Trump allies, people familiar with the matter said.

Verdicts against five Oath Keepers defines the Jan. 6, 2021, melee, once and for all, as a purposeful crime orchestrated by enemies of democracy.

“The fact that they got two convictions for seditious conspiracy gives DOJ the confidence that they can pursue other higher-ups and charge seditious conspiracy as well because certainly a D.C. jury accepted it," said Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a Washington white-collar criminal defense attorney. Three other co-defendants were acquitted of the charge, but all five were convicted of obstructing Congress' certification of the electoral vote, which — like seditious conspiracy — carries up to 20 years in prison. On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers dressed in battle gear joined the angry mob of Trump supporters and pushed into the Capitol. Testimony showed how the Oath Keepers were inspired and energized by Trump and his false claims of election fraud. “What the jury did doesn’t change any of the facts surrounding former President Trump,” he said.

The seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another leader in the far-right extremist group show that jurors are willing to hold accountable not just the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but those who schemed to subvert the 2020 election.

The Oath Keepers imagine themselves to be true patriots, but, as a jury of their peers found this week, their deeds were a crime against the United States.

A co-defendant — Kelly Meggs, who led the antigovernment group's Florida chapter — was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, while three other associates were cleared of that charge. Jury selection for a second group of Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy charges is scheduled to begin next week. On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing combat gear were seen on camera shouldering their way through the crowd and into the Capitol. After the riot, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers went to an Olive Garden restaurant to celebrate, according to prosecutors. Three other Oath Keepers previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.

A federal jury on Tuesday found the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, and one of his top associates guilty of seditious conspiracy for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S Capitol. Three other defendants were acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge, the most serious offense against them, but Rhodes, Kelly Meggs and the others, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell, were all convicted of obstructing an official proceeding. Rhodes and his co-defendants faced multiple federal criminal charges stemming from their participation in the Capitol riot, including seditious conspiracy, a rare and politically controversial charge carrying a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Rhodes was found not guilty of a charge of conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging official duties, probably because he never entered the Capitol building during the riot, but his associate Meggs was found guilty of the riot-related charge. This will be updated.

The rarely used, Civil War-era charge of seditious conspiracy calls for up to 20 years behind bars.

A federal jury has found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and one other defendant guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Codefendant Kelly Meggs was also found guilty while three others were acquitted on the seditious conspiracy charge and found guilty of other crimes related to Jan. 6.

Codefendant Kelly Meggs was also found guilty, while three others were acquitted on seditious conspiracy and found guilty of other crimes related to Jan. 6.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The rarely used, Civil War-era charge calls for up to 20 years behind bars. In an extraordinary move, Rhodes and two other defendants took the stand in their defense, opening themselves up to intense questioning from prosecutors. Rhodes told jurors there was no plan to attack the Capitol and insisted that his followers who went inside the building went rouge. On trial alongside Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, were Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has been convicted of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden's election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Stewart Rhodes and four co-defendants are accused of plotting to unleash political violence to prevent the inauguration of President Biden, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — A federal jury weighed seditious conspiracy charges against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates for a second day without reaching a verdict Monday in a high-stakes trial stemming from the U.S. Capitol attack. Jurors in the Oath Keepers case will decide, for the first time, whether the actions of any Jan. 6 defendants amount to seditious conspiracy — a rarely used charge that carries both significant prison time and political weight. They would be the first people convicted of seditious conspiracy at trial since the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. Throughout the nearly two-month-long trial, defense attorneys argued there was never any plot, that prosecutors have twisted their admittedly bombastic words. Defense lawyers argued that the Oath Keepers who did enter the Capitol were swept up in a spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage rather than acting as part of a plot.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Jurors who will decide whether to convict Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates of seditious conspiracy resumed deliberations Monday in the high-stakes trial stemming from the U.S. Capitol attack. Jurors in the Oath Keepers case will decide, for the first time, whether the actions of any Jan. 6 defendants amount to seditious conspiracy — a rarely used charge that carries both significant prison time and political weight. The jury in Washington D.C.'s federal court deliberated last Tuesday before going home for the long Thanksgiving weekend. They would be the first people convicted of seditious conspiracy at trial since the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. Defense lawyers argued that the Oath Keepers who did enter the Capitol were swept up in a spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage rather than acting as part of a plot.

Jurors who will decide whether to convict Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates of seditious conspiracy have resumed deliberations in the high-stakes trial stemming from the U.S. Capitol attack.

The Oath Keepers defendants claim that prosecutors used text messages out of context and videos with incorrect time stamps.

“Next comes our ‘Lexington,'" Rhodes told his fellow far-right extremists in a message on Jan. 6, 2021. Not true, the Oath Keepers argue. In the Oath Keepers trial, prosecutors built their case using dozens of encrypted messages sent in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. Jurors never heard from three other Oath Keepers who have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. The Oath Keepers aren't accused of entering into an agreement ahead of Jan. 6 to storm the Capitol.

“Next comes our ‘Lexington,'" Rhodes told his fellow far-right extremists in a message on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot was the opportunity the Oath Keepers had been preparing for, prosecutors in Rhodes' criminal trial say. The Oath Keepers, though, say there was never any plot, that prosecutors have twisted their admittedly bombastic words. Over two days on the witness stand, a seemingly relaxed Rhodes told jurors there was no Capitol attack plan. Rather, the defendants saw the attack as a “means to an end," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy told jurors Friday.

Hundreds of people have been convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that left dozens of officers injured, sent lawmakers running for their lives and shook the foundations of American democracy.

As angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, smashing through windows and beating police officers, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes extolled them as patriots and harkened back to the battle that kicked off the American Revolutionary War. “Next comes our ‘Lexington,'" Rhodes told his fellow far-right extremists in a message on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot was the opportunity the Oath Keepers had been preparing for, prosecutors in Rhodes' criminal trial say.

Closing arguments began in the Jan. 6 trial for five members and affiliates of the far-right Oath Keepers accused of seditious conspiracy.

A federal prosecutor told jurors Friday Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was preparing to lead rebellion to keep Joe Biden out of the White House.

Prosecutors said jurors saw a "mountain of evidence" that the defendants plotted to use force to stop the transfer of the presidency to Joe Biden. A defense attorney said no conspiracy was proved.

“These defendants repeatedly called for violent overthrow of the United States government, and they followed these words with action," she said. On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other battle gear were seen pushing through the pro-Trump mob and into the Capitol. After the attack, prosecutors say, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers celebrated with dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant. Those Oath Keepers who did enter the Capitol went rogue and were "stupid," he said. Two other defendants testified in the case.

The highest profile trial in Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack investigation is nearing its end.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other battle gear were seen pushing through the pro-Trump mob and into the Capitol. After the attack, prosecutors say Rhodes and other Oath Keepers celebrated with dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant. Closing arguments are expected to be Monday for the defense, which has focused on prosecutors' relative lack of evidence that the Oath Keepers had an explicit plan to attack the Capitol before Jan. 6. Those Oath Keepers who did enter the Capitol went rogue and were "stupid," he said. He testified that he was never serious about his queries, though he struggled to explain other messages referencing violence on Jan. 6.

A federal prosecutor says Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates discussed using violence to overturn the results of the 2020 election for weeks and saw an opportunity to do it when rioters started attacking the Capitol.

They have seen video of Watkins and other Oath Keepers shouldering through the angry pro-Trump mob and into the building in what prosecutors have described as military-style stack formation. The defense has spent weeks hammering prosecutors’ lack of evidence of an explicit plan for the Oath Keepers to attack the Capitol before Jan. 6. Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate from Granbury, Texas, told jurors that there was never a plan to attack the Capitol. “She was hazed to the point on one of her deployments that she absolutely feared for her life,” he told jurors. Also on trial with Watkins, Rhodes and Caldwell are Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, and Kenneth Harrelson, another group member from Florida.

A former Ohio bar owner who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style stack formation with fellow members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has testified that it was a “really stupid” decision.

A former Ohio bar owner who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style stack formation with fellow members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has testified that it was a “really stupid” decision.

Over two weeks, at least two of the five accused of a violent plot against the U.S. government testified.

A defendant charged alongside members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is playing down his messages about ferrying what he called heavy weapons across the Potomac River.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Lawyers for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes rested their case Wednesday in his Capitol riot trial after a man described as the far-right extremist group's "operations leader" for Jan. 6, 2021, told jurors that he never heard anyone discussing plans to storm the building. Michael Greene, who is also facing charges in the insurrection, waived his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to testify in Rhodes' defense in the seditious conspiracy trial. Seeking to counter the testimony of government witnesses, Greene told jurors that there wasn't even an “implicit” plan to attack the Capitol. Rhodes tried to distance himself from the Oath Keepers who did go inside, saying he believed doing so was "stupid." Greene told jurors that he wasn't a dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers but worked essentially as a contractor, handling security operations.

Lawyers for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes have rested their case in his Capitol riot trial.

During cross-examination Monday in his trial on seditious conspiracy charges, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes likened his militia group to the patriots who fought in the American Revolution. During cross-examination, Kathryn Rakoczy, one of the federal prosecutors in the case used messages sent by Rhodes to undercut the defendant’s claims. Do NOT chat about OK [Oath Keepers] members allegedly doing anything at capitol Go dark on that,” the message said. Under questioning from Rakoczy, Rhodes acknowledged that he had been financially dependent on funds given to the Oath Keepers by donors, and that he used an Oath Keepers credit card to pay for travel, guns and food. Three other Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges, and another major trial of group members is presently scheduled to begin in December.

Rhodes discussed multiple baseless conspiracy theories and made sexually explicit jokes on the witness stand

Rhodes resumed testifying in his defense Monday in his seditious conspiracy trial.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyOath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes did his best to wipe his hands of the violent disaster that was Jan. 6, 2021, on Monday, claiming on the witness stand that “it was stupid” of his allies to storm the Capitol. He also went on a bizarre tangent about his alleged romantic escapades.Despite her steadfast indications to the contrary, Rhodes claimed in federal court that he was involved in a romantic relationship with Kellye SoRelle, the for

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes told jurors on Monday there was no plan for his band of extremists to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as he tries to clear his name in his seditious conspiracy trial. Rhodes said he believed it was stupid for any Oath Keepers to go into the Capitol. Prosecutors have tried to show that for the Oath Keepers, then riot was not a spur-of-the-moment protest but part of a serious, weekslong plot. One told jurors that the Oath Keepers were prepared to stop the certification of Biden’s electoral victory by “any means necessary,” including by taking up arms. Three Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and struck cooperation deals with prosecutors were notably not put on the stand by the government.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes says there was no plan for his band of extremists to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes told jurors on Monday there was no plan for his band of extremists to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as he tries to clear his name in his seditious conspiracy trial. Taking the stand in his defense for a second day, Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol and that he was upset after he found out that some did. Rhodes said he believed it was stupid for any Oath Keepers to go into the Capitol.

He testified that the attack was "nowhere in the mission scope at all" of his group called the Oath Keepers. He and four other members are charged with seditious conspiracy.

Rhodes, wearing a dark suit and tie, faced jurors as he described his military experience and decision to start the Oath Keepers in 2009. Asked whether he believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, Rhodes falsely described Biden's victory as "unconstitutional" and "invalid." On the stand Friday, Rhodes described Oath Keepers’ events in the fall of 2020 before the election. Oath Keepers provided security for event speakers and Trump supporters who asked for their help, Rhodes said. The Oath Keepers say they were in Washington on Jan. 6 not to stop the certification of Biden’s win but to provide security for right-wing figures such as Roger Stone.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is testifying in his seditious conspiracy trial. He says he "absolutely" loves his country.

The Oath Keepers founder has argued that he was defending the Constitution on Jan. 6, not defying the government.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes took the witness stand on Friday in his high-stakes seditious conspiracy trial as he tries to counter allegations that his far-right extremist group planned an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power. Rhodes began testifying after prosecutors spent weeks laying out their case against him and four others accused of a violent plot to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House. Rhodes is expected to argue that his actions leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, were in anticipation of orders he expected from Trump, a Republican. On Jan. 6, 2021, Oath Keepers dressed in battle gear stormed the Capitol alongside hundreds of other angry Trump supporters. Rhodes and his co-defendants are the first people arrested in the Jan. 6 attack to stand trial on the charge of seditious conspiracy, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars upon conviction.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told jurors he is a patriotic American as he took the witness stand to defend himself against charges in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Prosecutors have rested their case after six weeks of testimony in the seditious conspiracy trial of Stewart Rhodes. Here are highlights from the testimony

Attorneys representing two Central Florida men charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol presented their opening statements to a jury in the nation’s capital on Thursday.

“There’s always a risk and something to lose when you take the stand,” said Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a white-collar criminal defense attorney in Washington not involved in the Oath Keepers case. On Jan. 6, 2021, Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other battle gear were seen pushing through the pro-Trump mob and into the Capitol. After the attack, prosecutors say Rhodes and other Oath Keepers celebrated with dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant. One of them told jurors that the Oath Keepers were prepared to stop the certification of Biden's electoral victory by "any means necessary." “It’s high risk, but also high reward,” said Robert Fisher, a Boston defense attorney who isn’t involved with the Oath Keepers case.

Federal prosecutors have rested their case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates charged in the U.S. Capitol attack after presenting more than four weeks of testimony, videos and text messages they say prove the defendants were behind a violent plot to stop the transfer of presidential power.

The defendants are Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four other members of the far right group.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes tried to tell President Trump to use paramilitary groups to stay in power by force after Jan. 6, according to court testimony.

After chatting with Alpers, Rhodes wrote down a message on Alpers' phone for the president. In it, Rhodes implored Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and promised that the Oath Keepers would support him if he did. “You must use the Insurrection Act and use the power of presidency to stop him. If Trump didn't act, Rhodes warned that Trump and his children would “die in prison." The Insurrection Act gives presidents broad authority to call up the military and decide what shape that force will take.

A witness in the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has testified that Rhodes tried to get a message to then-President Donald Trump days after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

A member of the far-right Oath Keepers movement who entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot told a federal court judge and jury on Monday that upon entering the building he and fellow Oath Keepers felt elated. He said he became involved with the Oath Keepers movement because he believed there was a “better than 50-50 chance” that there was massive fraud in the election that Joe Biden won over Trump. He said that he and other Oath Keepers went up the stairs with their hands on each other’s shoulders but subsequently got separated from each other once inside the building. By then, he said, he and his sister were “solidly in freakout mode.”He subsequently deleted Signal, an encoded messaging app used by the Oath Keepers, from his phone as well as his Facebook account. He is one of four Oath Keepers to plead guilty so far to riot-related charges.

Graydon P. Young testifies in Rhodes seditious conspiracy trial that he thought Capitol breach at time could start a revolution: “I was acting like a traitor, someone acting against my own government.”

Young, 57, of Englewood, Florida, was the first Oath Keepers member to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the Capitol attack. Jason Dolan was the first Oath Keepers member to testify at the trial. “We all knew that there was the potential for a historical event to be taking place at the Capitol,” Young said. Young’s sister in North Carolina told him about the Oath Keepers. Jurors also heard testimony Monday by a police officer who crossed paths with Oath Keepers members inside the Capitol during the riot.

A Florida man who stormed the U.S. Capitol with other members of the far-right Oath Keepers has testified that he believed they were participating in a historic event reminiscent of the French Revolution.

The Justice Department can bring in extra prosecutors, and public defenders can be brought on to help with defense. But there is a finite amount of time and a finite number of judges.

The trial of a far-right extremist group leader and four associates charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has been delayed after the Oath Keepers leader tested positive for the coronavirus.

The seditious conspiracy trial against the Oath Keepers founder and four associates is raising fresh questions about intelligence failures in the run-up to the Capitol riot that appear to have allowed the anti-government group and other extremists to mobilize in plain sight.

A member of the Oath Keepers says the extremist group was prepared on Jan_ 6, 2021, to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory by “any means necessary.”.

A jury has seen evidence of how a tweet by then-President Donald Trump from December 2020 energized members of the far-right Oath Keepers before some of its members joined in the attack on the U.S. Capitol a few weeks later.

A member of the Oath Keepers who traveled to Washington before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol testified Wednesday about a massive cache of weapons the far-right extremist group stashed in a Virginia hotel room.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told a member of the extremist group before the 2020 election that he had a contact in the Secret Service.

Messages show that hours after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, the leader of the Oath Keepers extremist group was discussing how to push President Donald Trump to go further in his fight to cling to power.

A trial that started Monday in Washington, D.

Prosecutors are saying at the opening of the most serious case to reach trial in the attack on the U.S. Capitol that the founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned for an “armed rebellion” to stop the transfer of presidential power.

The defense team in the Capitol riot trial of the Oath Keepers leader is relying on an unusual strategy with Donald Trump at the center.

A jury in Washington has been selected in the seditious conspiracy case against the founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates.

The founder of the Oath Keepers and four associates are on trial in the U.S. Capitol attack on charges that include seditious conspiracy — a rare Civil War-era charge that strikes to the heart of what prosecutors say happened that day.

Jury selection is underway in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Oath Keepers militia group founder Stewart Rhodes was once a promising Yale Law School graduate.

It’s been a long road to the upcoming Capitol riot trial of the the leader of the extremist group Oath Keepers.

The leader of the Oath Keepers has asked a federal judge to appoint a special master to manage the massive amount of evidence in the January 6 investigation, according to a motion filed in federal court.

The high-profile seditious conspiracy trial for the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group will begin later his month after a judge rejected a last-minute bid by Stewart Rhodes to replace his lawyers and delay his case.

A lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has been charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol.

An attorney for a Titusville man charged in connection with the Capitol riot claims attorneys in the case cannot agree on strategy, and he is asking to be tried separately.

Members of the far-right Oath Keepers’ extremist group charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will face jurors this fall after a judge denied defense attorneys’ bid to delay the high-profile trial until next year.

An upcoming hearing of the House committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection is expected to examine ties between people in former President Donald Trump's orbit and extremist groups who played a role in the U.S. Capitol riot.

The first public hearing of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack put a spotlight on two far-right extremist groups whose members are accused of plotting for weeks to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

A federal judge has refused to free Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from jail while he awaits trial on charges that he plotted with other members of his far-right militia group to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, has appeared remotely before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

The seditious conspiracy case against members and associates of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group marks the boldest attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol.

The founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group will remain in jail until a court hearing next Thursday.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, has been arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Former President Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election united right-wing supporters, conspiracy theorists and militants on Jan. 6.

The group includes people linked to the Oath Keepers militia group who have been indicted on charges that they planned and coordinated with one another in the attack. Investigators said Kenneth Harrelson is a member of the Oath Keepers and attended dozens of planning calls with other members before they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The Oath Keepers were among several militia and extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, that took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The SPLC also said Rhodes worked on Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign prior to starting the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers claim tens of thousands of members on its rolls but, according to the ADL, that is unlikely, but they may have a couple of thousand members.

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol in Washington. Militia members, white supremacists, paramilitary organizations and fervent supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stood shoulder to shoulder, unified in rage. I’m afraid that we’re going to have to be prepared for some worst-case scenarios for a while," said Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer in sociology at Vanderbilt University who studies U.S. militia groups. To understand the mix of extremists in the Capitol melee, it helps to look at history. ___This story has been corrected to show that the “Texas Militia” group gathered at the Statehouse in Auston while Trump was at the Texas border.