This artist’s sketch depicts the trial of the leader of the Oath-Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, and four others accused of plotting sedition during the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Dana Verkouten/AP
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Dana Verkouten/AP
This artist’s sketch depicts the trial of the leader of the Oath-Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, and four others accused of plotting sedition during the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Dana Verkouten/AP
WASHINGTON – Two former soldiers who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with members of the Oath-Keepers were sentenced to prison on Friday, a day after the extremist group’s founder the far right received set a record 18 years behind bars during the January 6, 2021 attack.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months in prison and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years.
A federal grand jury has acquitted Watkins and Harrelson of the conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes convicted in November. But jurors convicted Watkins and Harrelson on other charges on January 6, including obstructing Congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Rhodes’ 18-year sentence was the longest prison sentence handed down to date in hundreds of Capitol riots. The charges against the leaders of the Oath Keepers and another extremist group, the Proud Boys, are among the most serious charges brought forward in the Justice Department’s large-scale investigation into the riots.
Mehta agreed with the Justice Department that the actions of Rhodes and other Oath-holders could be punished as “terrorism”, increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidance.
But the judge ultimately gave Watkins and Harrelson much less time than prosecutors were seeking. The Justice Department requested 18 years for Watkins and 15 for Harrelson.
Watkins and Harrelson marched toward the Capitol along with other members of the Oath-Keepers in a “husband” formation as a crowd of Trump supporters clashed with larger police officers. Harrelson was the group’s “ground team leader” on January 6. Watkins, who had formed a separate militia group based in Ohio, recruited others to join the Oath-Keeping Team in Washington on January 6. that day.
Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, like Rhodes, she was more than just an “infantry”, noting that at least three other people charged in the riots would not be staying. that’s if she doesn’t recruit them to join. .
“Your role that day was more aggressive, more offensive, more purposeful than the others,” he told her.
Watkins tearfully apologized for his actions before the judge handed down his sentence. She condemned the violence of the rioters who attacked the police, but admitted that her presence at the Capitol “probably inspired those people to some extent.” She described herself as “just another idiot running around the Capitol” on January 6.
“And today you will hold this idiot accountable,” she told the judge.
The judge said Watkins’ personal story of struggling for years to accept her identity as a transgender woman made it particularly difficult for him to understand why she displayed “a lack of empathy”. with those who suffer” on January 6. Watkins testified at trial about hiding his identity from his parents during his strict Christian upbringing and going AWOL in the Army after a man soldiers found evidence of her connection to a transgender support group.
Harrelson told the judge he came to Washington after another Oath-holder offered him a “security job,” but said he had never voted for president in his life and was not interested in politics. treat. Some Vow Keepers provided protection for Trump ally Roger Stone and other right-wing figures at events before the riots.
“I’ve completely destroyed my life,” he said in tears. “I am responsible and my foolish actions have caused immense pain to our wife and children.”
Mehta said he disagreed with the government’s depiction of Harrelson as a “mid-level organizer” for the Oath-Keepers. Unlike many of the other team members charged in the attack, Mitchelson did not send any messages “that anyone would consider radical,” the judge said.
But the judge said he was struck by the image of Harrelson patting a police officer on the way out of the Capitol.
“You weren’t there that day because you were drawn in,” the judge told him.
In one almost two months probation In Washington federal court, lawyers for Watkins and other Oath-Keepers argued that there was no plan to attack the Capitol. On the witness stand, Watkins told jurors she never intended to interfere with the certification and had never heard of any orders for her and the other Oath-holders to enter court. home.
Evidence presented to the jury showed that Watkins, after the 2020 election, texted with people who expressed a desire to join her Ohio militia group about “basic military-style” training. She told a recruit, “I need you to give your best” ahead of her inauguration, January 20, 2021.
On January 6, Watkins and other Oath-holders wearing helmets and other paramilitary equipment were seen jostling through the crowd and up the stairs of the Capitol in a military-style stacking formation. . She communicated with others during the riot via a channel called “Stop the Steal J6” on the Zello walkie-talkie app, stating, “We’re in the main dome now.”
Harrelson shouted “Treason!” — a nickname aimed at members of Congress — as he entered the Capitol on January 6, a prosecutor said.
One of their other co-defendants, Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida division, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday for conspiracy to sedition and other charges.
Rhodes, 58, of Granbury, Texas, was the first defendant to be convicted on January 6 of conspiracy to sedition to receive punishment for what prosecutors say is a weeks-long plot to stop the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to Biden. Four other Oath-holders convicted of sedition in a second trial in January will be sentenced next week.
During Thursday’s sentencing, Rhodes blatantly declared himself a “political prisoner”, criticized prosecutors and the Biden administration, and tried to downplay his actions on January 6. The judge described Rhodes as a continuing threat to the United States, who clearly “want democracy in this country to turn violent.”
The Oath-Keepers verdicts this week could serve as a guide for prosecutors in a separate January 6 case against Proud Boys leaders. Earlier this month, another grand jury convicted former Proud Boys national president Enrique Tarrio and three other group leaders of conspiracy to sedition for what prosecutors see as another plot to keep Trump in back to the White House.
Before Thursday, the longest sentence in more than 1,000 Capitol riots was 14 years and two months for a man with a long history of assaulting police officers with pepper spray and a chair. when he stormed the Capitol. Just over 500 defendants were convicted, with more than half receiving prison sentences.
