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Breaking 1-06-21: MAGA terrorist attack on Capitol

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by RESINator, Jan 6, 2021.

  1. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    [AP] Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes gets 18 years for seditious conspiracy

    The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after the 2020 election.

    Stewart Rhodes is the first person charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his sentence is the longest that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.

    It’s another landmark in the Justice Department’s sweeping Jan. 6 investigation, which has led to convictions against the top leaders of two far-right extremist groups that authorities say came to Washington prepared to fight to keep President Donald Trump in power at all costs.

    Prosecutors had urged the judge in Washington’s federal court to put Rhodes behind bars for 25 years, saying he remains a threat to American democracy.

    In remarks before the judge handed down his sentence, Rhodes called himself a “political prisoner” and said his only crime is opposing those who are “destroying” the country.​

    THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes will be sentenced Thursday after a landmark verdict convicting him of spearheading a weekslong plot to keep former President Donald Trump in power, culminating in far-right extremists attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Prosecutors are seeking 25 years behind bars for Rhodes, who will be sentenced in the federal court in Washington that sits less than a mile from the Capitol. He will be the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment, which will set the standard for a slew of extremists group members' sentencings to come.

    Prosecutors say Rhodes remains a threat to American democracy more than two years after he led a plot to forcibly block the transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden after Trump lost the 2020 election.

    At Thursday's hearing, in a first for a Jan. 6 case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed with prosecutors to apply enhanced penalties for “terrorism,” under the argument that the Oath Keepers sought to influence the government through “intimidation or coercion.” Judges in previous sentencings had shot down the Justice Department’s request for the so-called “terrorism enhancement” — which can lead to a longer prison term — but Mehta said it fits in Rhodes’ case.

    “Mr. Rhodes directed his co-conspirators to come to the Capitol and they abided,” the judge said.

    Defense lawyer, Phillip Linder denied that Rhodes gave any orders for Oath Keepers to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6. Linder told the judge that Rhodes could have had many more Oath Keepers come to the Capitol “if he really wanted to” disrupt Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote.

    Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, was found guilty in November of seditious conspiracy alongside Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs, and four other Oath Keepers were convicted of the rarely used charge during a second trial in January. Three of Rhodes' co-defendants were acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other crimes.

    It was one of the most consequential cases brought by the Justice Department as it has sought to prove that the riot for right-wing extremists like the Oath Keepers was not a spur-of-the-moment protest but the culmination of weeks of plotting to overturn Biden's election victory.

    Rhodes' sentencing comes just weeks after former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy alongside other leaders of his far-right group for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to block the transfer of presidential power. The Proud Boys will be sentenced in August and September.

    Rhodes' lawyers say he should be sentenced to the 16 months he has already served behind bars since his January 2022 arrest. In seeking leniency for Rhodes, his lawyers cited his military service and told the judge that Rhodes' writings and statements were all “protected political speech.” Rhodes' attorneys plan to appeal his conviction.

    Meggs is expected to be sentenced after Rhodes later Thursday and two other Oath Keepers will be sentenced Friday. Four other defendants convicted of seditious conspiracy will be sentenced next week.

    The judge canceled the sentencing hearing scheduled this week for another defendant — Thomas Caldwell of Berryville, Virginia — as the judge weighs whether to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict against Caldwell for obstruction and a documents tampering charge.

    The convictions were a major blow for the Oath Keepers, which Rhodes founded in 2009 and grew into one of the largest far-right anti-government militia groups. Recruiting past and present members of the military and police officers, the group promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny.

    The defense tried to seize on the fact that none of the Oath Keepers’ messages laid out an explicit plan to storm the Capitol. But prosecutors said the Oath Keepers saw an an opportunity to further their goal to stop the transfer of power and sprang into action when the mob began storming the building.

    Messages, recordings and other evidence presented at trial show Rhodes and his followers growing increasingly enraged after the 2020 election at the prospect of a Biden presidency, which they viewed as a threat to the country and their way of life. In an encrypted chat two days after the election, Rhodes told his followers to prepare their “mind, body, spirit” for “civil war.”

    In a conference call days later, Rhodes urged his followers to let Trump know they were “willing to die” for the country. One Oath Keeper who was listening was so alarmed that he began recording the call and contacted the FBI, telling jurors “it sounded like we were going to war against the United States government.”

    Another man testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to persuade him to pass along a message to Trump that urged the president not to give up his fight to hold onto power. The intermediary — who told jurors he had an indirect way to reach the president — recorded his meeting with Rhodes and went to the FBI instead of giving the message to Trump. Rhodes told the man during that meeting that the Oath Keepers “should have brought rifles” on Jan. 6.

    The longest sentence so far in the more than 1,000 Capitol riot cases — 14 years in prison — was handed down this month for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol. Just over 500 of the defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving prison time and the remainder getting sentences such as probation or home detention.​
     
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  2. dmoneybangbang

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    Good. People should be accountable for their actions.
     
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  3. ROCKSS

    ROCKSS Contributing Member

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    Excellent, I see he went on a 20-minute tirade about how he is right and all J6`ers are political prisoners and all the rest of the BS that Q folks and maga people still believe. His best hope is trump wins and they all get pardoned or even better when trump goes to jail they can actually share a cell and reminisce about the good ole days of Jan 2022
     
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  4. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    F

    A

    F

    O

    Still can’t believe we had an actual President who said, in a televised debate, “Proud Boys stand down and stand by.” I want to laugh about that, but it’s embarrassing and sad and super brown shirt Nazi ****. Enjoy prison, traitor
     
  5. Rashmon

    Rashmon Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]

    These people are getting off easy.
     
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  6. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    Biggs just comes off looking like a jackass...did you watch the clip before you posted?

    //coding check needed
     
  7. mdrowe00

    mdrowe00 Member

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    #7547 mdrowe00, May 27, 2023
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
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  8. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    He's made a lot of solid winning decisions in his life and it looks like those good decisions and decision making will continue. I know it's shocking.
     
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  9. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    [​IMG]

    that black dude is yet another poor lost soul trapped in the sunken place

    and that guy in the back…Whose grandad just escaped the nursing home?
     
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  10. ROCKSS

    ROCKSS Contributing Member

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    Yikes, thats looks like mike night at the local bar, that is sad and the funny part is the old white dude waving the flag in back.
     
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  11. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    I'm sure the successes he sees in the second half of his life will be twice what he accomplished in the first.
     
  12. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    All kids today are into RAP. The Rs just trying to connect.
     
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  13. NewRoxFan

    NewRoxFan Contributing Member

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    You just get bamboozled by a President that "can't find his pants." And your leading candidate is facing espionage charges. So what do you do?

     
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  14. NewRoxFan

    NewRoxFan Contributing Member

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    LOL, so stupid…

     
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  15. Andre0087

    Andre0087 Member

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    It is embarrassing and I am regretting watching it...wtf is going on here? How much are they paying these people to do this ****? Time to burn the rest of my social media accounts to the ground.
     
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  16. ROCKSS

    ROCKSS Contributing Member

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    For real, does she actually do anything but try and refute what's happened in the past..................her conspiracy theories must invigorate her constituents OR she is really just there to keep the "base" fed with red meat everyday................she is either crazy like a fox or just plain crazy, I think she truly believes all this BS
     
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  17. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    I suspect that MTG supporters enjoy her political theater. They do not need The Truth; they just want to be entertained.

    The same can be said for Trump.
     
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  18. Xopher

    Xopher Member

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    Bread and circuses
     
  19. Buck Turgidson

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    Guns and Blubber
     
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  20. basso

    basso Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

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    but what is truth?
    is truth unchanging law?
    we both have truths,
    are mine the same as yours?
     

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