Tag: Oath Keepers

Tampa man, 20, admits intending to block Congress with Oath Keepers in new Capitol riot guilty plea

Washington Post logo

A Tampa man pleaded guilty Tuesday to joining a “stack formation” of Oath Keepers members and associates who allegedly breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, becoming the latest to cooperate with prosecutors and the first among the formation to specify that he intended to hinder Congress that day using intimidation and coercion.

Caleb Berry, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

In a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to request lowering an estimated prison term of 51 to 63 months under federal guidelines for Berry, who has no criminal record and is one of the youngest defendants charged in the Capitol riots, in exchange for his substantial assistance. Continue reading.

Oath Keepers Leader Sits for F.B.I. Questioning Against Legal Advice

New York Times logo

In a bold move, Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the right-wing militia group, sat for an interview with federal agents after they seized his phone in May.

It was shortly after federal agents confronted him in May outside a boutique hotel in Lubbock, Texas, seizing his cellphone with a warrant, that Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, made a bold decision: Even though he had just gotten undeniable proof that he was under investigation, he agreed to be questioned about his — and his militia’s — role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Against the advice of a lawyer, Mr. Rhodes spoke freely with the agents about the Capitol assault for nearly three hours, he said in an interview on Friday. Mr. Rhodes said that he denied that he or any other Oath Keepers had intended to disrupt Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote — the chief accusation the government has lodged against 16 members of the group who are charged with conspiracy.

He also said he told the agents that members of his militia went into the building only after they had heard that someone had been shot inside and wanted to render aid. (A New York Times visual investigation of the events of Jan. 6 did not find evidence of Mr. Rhodes’s claims.) Continue reading.

Four more indicted in alleged Jan. 6 Oath Keepers conspiracy to obstruct election vote in Congress

Washington Post logo

Four more Oath Keepers associates have been indicted and three were arrested in Florida in recent days in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, bringing the number of co-defendants charged in the largest conspiracy case from that day to 16, court records show.

Joseph Hackett, 51, of Sarasota, Fla., Jason Dolan, 44, of Wellington, Fla., and William Isaacs, 21, of Kissimmee, Fla., each face multiple counts in an indictment handed up Wednesday and unsealed Sunday in Washington. The three appeared Thursday before U.S. magistrates in Tampa, West Palm Beach and Orlando.

The name of a fourth defendant not known to be in custody was redacted. Continue reading.

Capitol riot probes home in on Oath Keepers

The Hill logo

Federal prosecutors appear to be zeroing in on the Oath Keepers following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, making the paramilitary group a priority among the more than 400 people facing criminal charges over the rampage.

A dozen co-defendants reportedly affiliated with the right-wing militia organization are facing conspiracy and other charges over their alleged roles in the storming of the Capitol.

Last week, another member of the Oath Keepers, Jon Ryan Schaffer, became the first defendant following Jan. 6 to plead guilty and agree to cooperatewith law enforcement. Continue reading.

Prosecutors secure first guilty plea from Capitol riot

Axios Logo

A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia pleaded guilty Friday to two charges stemming from his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.

Why it matters: It’s the first guilty plea that federal prosecutors have secured in their sprawling investigation, and it comes exactly 100 days after the Jan. 6 siege. Jon Schaffer, 53, is expected to cooperate with the government and will receive “witness security.”

  • Schaffer turned himself in to the FBI on Jan. 18 and has been jailed since. He originally faced six charges, including for using bear spray on police officers, but he will now plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon. Continue reading.

Capitol attacker claims his threats were just ‘locker room talk’ and he was drugged: court documents

Raw Story Logo

The indictment for Capitol attacker Thomas Edward Caldwell revealed some information about the defense he intends to use in court.

NBC News’ Scott McFarlane has followed the indictments and trials of those who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Caldwell was arrested on Jan. 19 and indicted on the 27th, and he was later identified as an alleged Oath Keeper who worked with the FBI and had “top-secret clearance,” WUSA reported.

“The government has asserted all three are members of the Oath Keepers militia group,” said the report. “Ray Crowl and Jessica Marie Watkins are accused of being part of the Ohio State Regular Militia Chapter. During a search of Watkins’ Ohio home, federal investigators have said they found homemade weapons and instructions for making plastic explosives.” Continue reading.

Judge rules against U.S., grants bail to Oath Keeper charged in Capitol riot

Reuters Logo

The U.S. Justice Department arrested another alleged associate of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia on charges he took part in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, 6, and a judge granted him bail on Monday, rejecting government requests to keep him detained.

According to court papers, Roberto Minuta, 36, who owns a tattoo shop in Newburgh, New York, “berated and taunted” U.S. Capitol Police while clad in military-style gear, then attacked the Capitol and disrupted Congress as it was certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Minuta later deleted a Facebook account to “conceal his involvement in these offenses,” the court papers said. Continue reading.

Video surfaces showing Trump ally Roger Stone flanked by Oath Keepers on morning of Jan. 6

Some Oath Keepers were later involved in the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

A new video has surfaced showing former President Donald Trump’slongtime adviser Roger Stone in Washington, D.C., on the morning of Jan. 6, flanked by members of the Oath Keepers militia group just hours before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.

In the video, which was obtained and reviewed by ABC News, Stone takes pictures and mingles with supporters outside a D.C. hotel as Oath Keepers hover around him, one wearing a baseball hat and military-style vest branded with the militia group’s logo.

“So, hopefully we have this today, right?” one supporter asks Stone in the video, which was posted just after 10 a.m. on the morning of the rally. “We shall see,” Stone replies.https://abcnews.go.com/US/video-surfaces-showing-trump-ally-roger-stone-flanked/story?id=75706765