Oath Keepers founder says it was ‘stupid’ for members to enter U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes on Monday said it was “stupid” for members of his far-right militia group to enter the U.S. Capitol during the rioting on Jan. 6, 2021, distancing himself from the actions of his supporters on that day and denying that he had a plan to disrupt certification of the 2020 election.
Rhodes took the stand for a second day during a trial in which he and and four other Oath Keepers face seditious conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 attack.
The militia leader, who faces up to 20 years in prison on the rarely used charges, insisted that the “mission” was never to storm Congress and stop certification of the 2020 election.
“There was no plan to enter the building for any purpose,” Rhodes said on the witness stand, according to The Associated Press.
Rhodes did not go into the Capitol himself but has been described by prosecutors as a general overseeing his militia members as they charged the building on Jan. 6.
Under questioning from his lawyer, Rhodes told jurors that “it was stupid to go into the Capitol.”
“One, because it wasn’t our mission. And, two, it opened the door for our political enemies to persecute us. And that’s what happened, and here we are,” Rhodes said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rhodes and his defense team argue the Oath Keepers were not present that day to join the thousands of pro-Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol to overturn certification of the 2020 election.
Rather, they claim the group was awaiting orders from former President Trump, who they believed was going to initiate the Insurrection Act, an old series of laws authorizing the commander in chief to call up an armed militia to quell a domestic rebellion.
On the stand, Rhodes said Monday that “all of my effort was on what Trump” would do, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors have presented the case that Rhodes and four other members plotted for weeks to overthrow the government.
The other members on trial are Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, who assisted Meggs; Thomas Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, the leader of a militia group from Ohio.
According to prosecutors, the Oath Keepers members stashed weapons and gear at a Virginia hotel ahead of Jan. 6.
But Rhodes on Monday said the weapons were not there for the purpose of attacking the Capitol, arguing that it would have taken too long to bring them to Washington, D.C., according to the AP.
Prosecutors last week played back an audio recording of Rhodes on Jan. 10, 2021, saying the militia should have brought firearms to the Capitol.
“We should have brought rifles. We could have fixed it right then and there,” Rhodes allegedly said.
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