Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes was issued an 18-year prison sentence by US District Judge Amit Mehta on Thursday morning.
Judge Mehta Rhodes warned Rhodes is a terrorist as he issued “terror enhancement” penalties to lengthen the seditious conspiracy sentence and should serve nearly two decades in prison to assure he does not conspire another terror attack like he did on January 6.
Conspiring the protest that escalated into a riot is “the most severe crime an American” can commit, trouncing the criminality of murder, Mehta argued.
“Seditious conspiracy sentences in other cases. As you have pointed out some involved the actual targeting and killing of Americans,” the judge admonished. “Mr. Rhodes, you were convicted of seditious conspiracy. You are a lawyer, you understand what that means. For those who are not, it’s true neither Rhodes nor a conspirator used weapons against a police officer that day.
“Seditious conspiracy is among the most serious crimes an American can commit, offenses against the people of the country. It’s not confirmed to one day, actions of one day. It’s a series of acts in which you and others committed to use force including potentially with weapons against the government of the United States as it transitioned from one president to another.”
Judge Mehta conceded that characterizations of the Oath Keepers as a white supremacist organization are bogus, but warned Rhodes led a group of vigilantes who took it upon themselves to orchestrate a ploy to uphold the Constitution by force.
“Let me be clear, we don’t paint with a broad brush. Shame on you if you do — just because you support the former president doesn’t mean you are a white supremacist. You voted for the other guy. But what we cannot have, absolutely cannot have, is a group of citizens who because they didn’t like the outcome of an election or because they didn’t think the law was carried out the way they think it should be, were prepared to take up arms to foment a revolution. That’s what you did. Those are your words, not mine,” he said. “You’re not a political prisoner. You are here because 12 jurors in DC who acquitted you of multiple counts found you guilty of sedition — a jury of your peers, make no mistake.”
Footage from J6 shows police using deadly force against unarmed protesters. Snipers shot rubber bullets and sting balls from an incline on the Capitol Steps and threw flash grenades at the moderately calm crowd of protesters after they knocked over a back rack security barrier approaching the Capitol building.
Mehta heralded the cops on duty for laying “their bodies on the line.”
“There are two enduring impacts of January 6,” he said. “Now we all hold our breaths every time an election approaches. The enduring legacy is what we saw yesterday: Herorism, of police officers and people working on Capitol Hill that day to protect this democracy as we know it. They laid their bodies on the line,” he said. “You talk about keeping oaths? Nobody is more emblematic than those police officers, Mr. Rhodes. Their heroism, stamina, courage — but for their acts, J6 couldn’t have been far blacker a day than one, already one of the blackest of this country.”
Rhodes maintained during sentencing that he is a “political prisoner” persecuted for thought crimes:
I’ll start by saying I’m a political prisoner, like President Trump and my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country… using protected speech because of systemic violence of the left to shut down speech of Trump supporters. It started at the Trump inauguration. We started protecting vulnerable Trump supporters from attacks by Antifa — none of them was ever prosecuted to my mind — Obviously, seditious conspiracy, trying to stop the transfer of power To Trump. We’ve protected people outside Trump rallies from Antifa.
Antifa like to have unarmed victims…We stepped across the country to protect unarmed or elderly back to their vehicles. We shouldn’t have to do that in this country. There are repeated systemic examples. One, in Berkeley, a transgender Trump supporter attacked. We stepped in. We did so peacefully. We deterred Antifa. That’s been our focal point. Unlike the characterization of the Southern Poverty Law Center, our people are nonviolent with zero records of actual use of force. We deter like other groups — unlike Proud Boys, who seek out street violence.
In DC, we did many security operations without incidents, without a hitch. We give our people the option to wear helmets and body armor because Antifa stabs people, throws bottles, [other things]. On January 6, I did not go inside, nor did I epect anyone else to. I had just spoken at the Latinos for Trump rally about a block north. When I was standing at the northeast corner of the Capitol, that’s where the next event was going to be for Ali Alexander. Kelly Meggs’ team was escorting people from the ellipse to Ali Alexander’s event.
My concern was they would get caught up in turmoil outside the Capitol. I wanted to make sure they didn’t get caught up. That’s why I said, “If anyone is not still on duty come to us.” When they did come to me, they said they had gone inside and I said that was stupid. Mr. Green was actually in charge of assigning the teams that day. I never take personal leadership unless I have no choice. Green is a retired police officer. I put good men in charge, trust them to do the right thing. On January 6, I saw a problem — saw a riot happening. I didn’t want our guys to be a part of it, so, I said, “Come to me.” I wanted them to be with Mr. Green and me to keep our guys from being caught up with that.
Josh James was with the team protecting Roger Stone. I didn’t want them caught up with this. No Oath Keeper took part in any of the fighting. No Oath Keeper punched anyone, kicked anyone, pepper sprayed them, struck them with a stun gun. The worst thing an Oath Keeper did that day: Jessica Watkins pushed in a Senate hallway. She was leader her own little militia. The other one was Josh James, he lost his military bearing.
[I feel for the police who testified yesterday]. None of us caused that. It was bizarre to hear all that. I find it offense, frankly. This has been a surreal experience. I feel I’m the lead character in ” Kafka’s The Trial.”
…
I find it very offensive, all meant to smear the Trump supporters and link them to the Ku Klu Klan, which was a Democrat organization. The Oath Keepers — the New York Times blames the Oather Keepers and the Proud Bous. They hate us because we stopped the violence in the streets and they don’t like that.
The government sought “terror enhancements” for all 9 of the first Oath Keepers being sentenced and four other J6 cases. With the exception of Rhodes, judges have rebuffed each time.
Metha held a sentencing-related hearing on Wednesday, Judge in which five witnesses, government workers and law enforcement officials, provided testimony about how they are traumatized by the “mob of insurrectionists storming the Capitol.”
The witnesses omitted details about the lethal force cops used against protesters as they testified about how they are still haunted by the Capitol riot.
Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn claimed he is, “Still dealing with threats against my life and the lives of my loved ones for simply doing my job on January 6.”
“Why am I and my fellow officers still called liars and traitors?” Dunn told the judge. “Why must I suffer two and a half years later? While I will always live with the mental scars of January 6, I find a measure of relief in the jury’s guilty verdict: relief that my fellow officers and I did not suffer in vain; relief that what I was protecting on January 6 was worth defending; and relief that, in the end, our American system of justice prevailed and thus Court will administer accountability.”
At 1:30 pm, Judge Mehta will begin sentencing for Florida Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs.
The post Corrupt DC Judge Mehta Lectures Oath Keeper Founder Stewart Rhodes Then Sentences Him to 18 Years in Prison for January 6 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
