US charges Oath Keepers head Stewart Rhodes with sedition in Capitol attack
- The militia group’s founder and 10 others face the first charges of seditious conspiracy brought against Trump supporters over the deadly siege
- The indictment says the Oath Keepers formed two teams on January 6: one to go after the House and Senate, and one to confront officers
Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, has been arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy in the attack on the US Capitol, authorities said on Thursday.
These are the first charges of seditious conspiracy that the Justice Department has brought in connection with the attack led by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Rhodes, 56, of Granbury, Texas, and Edward Vallejo, 63, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested on Thursday. The others who were charged were already facing criminal charges related to the attack. Rhodes is the highest-ranking member of an extremist group to be arrested in the deadly siege.
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The arrest of Rhodes and the others is a serious escalation of the accusations against the thousands of rioters who stormed the Capitol.