WASHINGTON (AP) - The Capitol riot was the end result of weeks of preparation and a second of triumph for the Oath Keepers, a federal prosecutor stated Wednesday in closing argument within the second seditious conspiracy trial towards members of the far-right extremist group.
Prosecutor Louis Manzo informed jurors that Oath Keepers chief Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted in an earlier trial, started pushing to cease the switch of energy from then-President Donald Trump to Democratic challenger Joe Biden virtually instantly after the 2020 election, and that members of Rhodes’ group took up the trigger.
Manzo stated they introduced weapons from across the nation to create an arsenal stashed at a lodge simply exterior Washington earlier than two teams of Oath Keepers stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with lots of of different rioters.
“Our democracy was underneath assault, however for the defendants it was every thing they educated for and a second to have fun,” Manzo stated.
Rhodes and a Florida chapter chief had been convicted in November of seditious conspiracy and different expenses in a significant victory for the Justice Division. Three co-defendants had been acquitted of seditious conspiracy, which carries as much as 20 years behind bars.
The query within the present trial is whether or not prosecutors can persuade jurors to convict lower-level defendants.
In a separate trial on the identical courthouse, the federal government can also be making an attempt to safe seditious conspiracy convictions towards former Proud Boys nationwide chairman Enrique Tarrio and 4 associates. The trial towards Tarrio opened this month and is predicted to final a number of weeks.
The 4 Oath Keepers now on trial are Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, Texas; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix. They're charged with a number of different felonies along with seditious conspiracy.
Protection legal professionals argue that there was by no means any plan to storm the Capitol and that prosecutors cherry-picked from an enormous variety of on-line messages to attempt to make their case.
“The federal government has constructed its case upon selective proof choice and scary phrases,” stated William Lee Shipley, who was representing Minuta. Authorities say the New York Oath Keepers chief was a part of a gaggle of people that entered the Capitol in a military-style line after heeding Rhodes’ name to race to the constructing.
Whereas there's not proof particularly spelling out a plan to assault the Capitol, prosecutors stated the Oath Keepers seized upon the riot as a chance to assist hold Trump in energy. “Attacking the Capitol was a way to an finish,” Manzo stated.
Protection legal professionals stated the weapons stashed in Virginia weren't supposed for an assault on the Capitol, however had been an emergency backup measure as a part of their plan to supply safety at a “Cease the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 the place Trump addressed a crowd of his supporters. The weapons had been by no means deployed.
“The federal government’s whole case performed out like a closely edited actuality present,” stated protection lawyer Angela Halim, who represents Hackett. He's accused of breaching the Capitol with Moerschel and different Oath Keepers.
Prosecutors stated Hackett repeatedly warned different Oath Keepers about “leaks” and the necessity to safe their communications earlier than Jan. 6, and later modified his display screen names. They stated Hackett and Moerschel had been a part of one other group of people that approached the Capitol in a military-style line earlier than they entered the constructing.
Moerschel’s lawyer, Scott Weinberg, stated his shopper rapidly realized on Jan. 6 that the scenario “wasn’t what he signed up for” and left each the Capitol and the Oath Keepers group. Rhodes handled the group like his “private piggy financial institution,” Weinberg stated.
Vallejo, an Military veteran, drove from Arizona and stayed with the arsenal of weapons on the lodge in Virginia, simply exterior Washington and despatched unanswered messages providing to deploy a “fast response pressure,” or QRF. He additionally spoke a couple of “declaration of a guerilla conflict” on the morning of Jan. 6, in response to an audio recording performed in court docket.
“That is life or dying for Mr. Vallejo. He's lethal severe,” Manzo stated.
However Vallejo’s lawyer stated Vallejo “wears his coronary heart on his sleeve and has no guile” and didn't have shut ties to the opposite defendants. “Nobody was relying on Mr. Vallejo as a part of a QRF,” stated Matthew Peed.
Seditious conspiracy, a Civil Battle-era offense, may be tough to show, particularly when the alleged plot is unsuccessful.
Rhodes and Kelly Meggs of Florida had been the primary individuals in a long time discovered responsible at trial of the cost. All 5 defendants within the first trial had been convicted on a separate cost of obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s win.
Three different Oath Keepers have pleaded responsible to seditious conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with investigators within the hopes of getting lighter sentences.
____
Comply with AP’s protection of the Capitol riot at: https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege