Oath Keepers founder says rioters went ‘off mission’ entering Capitol on Jan. 6 – By Joe Fisher (UPI) / Nov 7, 2022
Nov. 7 (UPI) — The founder of the far-right militia the Oath Keepers denied directing his allies to enter the U.S. Capitol building and disrupt the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.
Stewart Rhodes testified before a U.S. District Court in the face of charges of seditious conspiracy Monday. He told the court he did not believe entering the Capitol and interfering with congressional proceedings was part of his group’s goal. Rhodes was arrested in January and received additional charges in July.
“I didn’t want them getting wrapped up into all the nonsense with Trump supporters,” he said while being questioned by his attorneys, Politico reports. “My goal was to make sure that no one got wrapped up in that Charlie Foxtrot (chaos) going on inside the Capitol.”
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Rhodes and his allies knowingly conspired to prevent, hinder or delay the lawful transfer of presidential power by force in an attempt to keep former President Donald Trump in office. They did so by coordinating travel to Washington, D.C., with the intent to stop the transfer of power. They organized teams willing to use force and transport firearms and ammunition to the site. These are just a small number of the allegations.
