Where did this belief come from?
Oath Keepers will tell a jury they believed Donald Trump would turn them into his own personal militia on January 6When nine accused leaders of the Oath Keepers go on trial this fall to face seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, jurors in the government's first big, showcase trial will hear a defense argument that will sound outlandish to many.
Jurors will be told that the far-right extremists believed President Donald Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act as they gathered at the Capitol — 100 strong in their camo-colored tactical gear — and turn them into his own, ultra-loyal federal militia.
Their fantasy mission? To "Stop the Steal," "Defend the President," and "Defeat the Deep State," according to since-deleted rhetoric from their website. A defiant Trump would officially be their commander in chief.
"Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021," Inauguration Day. "Strike now," the Oath Keepers leader and founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, urged in an open letter to Trump on December 14, 2020.
"You must call us up and command us."
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Oath Keepers will tell a jury they believed Donald Trump would turn them into his own personal militia on January 6
Laura Italiano Jun 30, 2022, 6:46 PM
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.
Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. John Minchillo/AP
Lawyers will tell jurors the Oath Keepers believed President Trump would federalize them on Jan. 6.
They will argue at their seditious conspiracy trial that was their lawful reason to be at the Capitol.
They'll also argue that Trump could have used the Insurrection Act to make them a federal militia.
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When nine accused leaders of the Oath Keepers go on trial this fall to face seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, jurors in the government's first big, showcase trial will hear a defense argument that will sound outlandish to many.
Jurors will be told that the far-right extremists believed President Donald Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act as they gathered at the Capitol — 100 strong in their camo-colored tactical gear — and turn them into his own, ultra-loyal federal militia.
Their fantasy mission? To "Stop the Steal," "Defend the President," and "Defeat the Deep State," according to since-deleted rhetoric from their website. A defiant Trump would officially be their commander in chief.
"Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021," Inauguration Day. "Strike now," the Oath Keepers leader and founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, urged in an open letter to Trump on December 14, 2020.
"You must call us up and command us."
Elmer Stewart Rhodes
The Oath Keepers founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, was charged with seditious conspiracy in the January 6 investigation. Photo by Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
James Lee Bright, a lawyer for Rhodes, acknowledged that most people will be shocked to learn the Oath Keepers thought they'd become a federal militia. "They believe what?" Bright imagined people thinking. "These guys are fucking crazy."
He nonetheless hopes to convince jurors that the pro-Trump, anti-government group had two lawful — and non-seditious — reasons to be at the Capitol on January 6.
Reason one: They were an invited security force for rally planners and participants, including Roger Stone, Ali Alexander, Latinos for Trump, and Virginia Women for Trump.
HOMEPAGE
HOME POLITICS
Oath Keepers will tell a jury they believed Donald Trump would turn them into his own personal militia on January 6
Laura Italiano Jun 30, 2022, 6:46 PM
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.
Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. John Minchillo/AP
Lawyers will tell jurors the Oath Keepers believed President Trump would federalize them on Jan. 6.
They will argue at their seditious conspiracy trial that was their lawful reason to be at the Capitol.
They'll also argue that Trump could have used the Insurrection Act to make them a federal militia.
The Refresh logo
Listen to The Refresh: Insider's real-time news podcast.
When nine accused leaders of the Oath Keepers go on trial this fall to face seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, jurors in the government's first big, showcase trial will hear a defense argument that will sound outlandish to many.
Jurors will be told that the far-right extremists believed President Donald Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act as they gathered at the Capitol — 100 strong in their camo-colored tactical gear — and turn them into his own, ultra-loyal federal militia.
Their fantasy mission? To "Stop the Steal," "Defend the President," and "Defeat the Deep State," according to since-deleted rhetoric from their website. A defiant Trump would officially be their commander in chief.
"Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021," Inauguration Day. "Strike now," the Oath Keepers leader and founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, urged in an open letter to Trump on December 14, 2020.
"You must call us up and command us."
Elmer Stewart Rhodes
The Oath Keepers founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, was charged with seditious conspiracy in the January 6 investigation. Photo by Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
James Lee Bright, a lawyer for Rhodes, acknowledged that most people will be shocked to learn the Oath Keepers thought they'd become a federal militia. "They believe what?" Bright imagined people thinking. "These guys are fucking crazy."
He nonetheless hopes to convince jurors that the pro-Trump, anti-government group had two lawful — and non-seditious — reasons to be at the Capitol on January 6.
Reason one: They were an invited security force for rally planners and participants, including Roger Stone, Ali Alexander, Latinos for Trump, and Virginia Women for Trump.
Reason two: They were awaiting Trump's orders.
When those orders failed to come, Rhodes' lawyers will argue, the Oath Keepers left the Capitol. They had dinner at an Olive Garden, and then collected the weapons and provisions they'd stashed — but never used — in their rooms at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Virginia. Then they went home.
"I just want to fight," federal prosecutors say Rhodes complained after failing to get Trump on the phone that night, like some extremist Pinocchio with a thwarted dream of becoming a real militiaman.
Prosecutors will, of course, tell jurors a different tale.
The Feds argue in court papers that the Oath Keepers' private chat messages show sedition was their real motive.
The chats are full of references to a civil war against "the usurpers" — Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — and to using force to oppose the transfer of presidential power, which is the very definition of seditious conspiracy.
The Feds also argue that Rhodes oversaw two military-style "stacks," or formations, of Oath Keepers who forcibly breached the Capitol — and the real reason the group left DC was because the FBI had begun making arrests.
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Oath Keepers will tell a jury they believed Donald Trump would turn them into his own personal militia on January 6