The Leader Of The Oath Keepers Has Been Charged With Seditious Conspiracy In Connection With The Capitol Disturbance.
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, is a former US paratrooper. He has been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with last year's attack on the US Capitol.
On Thursday, 11 persons were charged with the crime, including Stewart Rhodes. According to his lawyer, he was arrested at his house in Texas.
This is the first time a sedition allegation has been brought in connection with the tragic riot.
Over 725 people have been arrested in connection with the incident, which shook the whole world.
Mr. Rhodes, a 56-year-old former US paratrooper and Yale law graduate, is charged of conspiring with others to "obstruct by force the execution of the rules governing the transfer of presidential power."
The charge of sedition is described as attempting to "overthrow, put down, or destroy the government of the United States by force."
Mr Rhodes is accused by the Department of Justice of conspiring with fellow Oath Keepers - a loosely-knit militia that believes the US government has been tainted by elites - to smuggle firearms and ammunition to Washington, DC in order to derail Mr Biden's presidential bid.
Prosecutors believe Mr Rhodes used encrypted communications to organize the attack on Congress beginning in late December 2020, though he is never said to have visited the premises.
He is accused of forming a number of "rapid reaction force" teams that "intended to use guns as part of their plot to prevent the lawful transfer of presidential power."
According to the allegations, Mr Rhodes divided his supporters into "stacks," each of which entered the Capitol dressed in riot and tactical gear.
According to prosecutors, the first "stack" split up after entering the building and walked to the House and Senate chambers separately, while the second "stack" confronted officers in the Capitol Rotunda.
Members who invaded the Capitol had "gone off mission" and were not executing on Mr Rhodes' orders, he said in prior conversations with conservative organisations.