Storming the Capitol: Prison sentences for supporters of the far-right “Oath Keepers”

Storm on the Capitol
Prison sentences for supporters of the far-right “Oath Keepers”

Almost two and a half years after the storming of the US Capitol in Washington, four other members of the extreme right-wing militia “Oath Keepers” have been sentenced to prison terms. They had already been found guilty in January of, among other things, seditious conspiracy – a criminal offense very rarely used in the country’s judicial history. The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that the four men now have between three and four and a half years in prison. The founder of the militia was sentenced to 18 years at the end of May – the harshest sentence to date in connection with the storming of the US Capitol.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump, who was voted out at the time, stormed the Houses of Parliament in Washington to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory in November 2020 from being confirmed – several people were killed. The attack on the heart of US democracy shook the country. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech.

The evidence showed that the four men, now sentenced to prison terms, had plotted to use force to prevent the democratic transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election, the Justice Department said. Among other things, they had put together a “rapid reaction force”. From December 2020, the men would have planned the trip to Washington together with others via encrypted communication channels and also organized weapons and protective equipment.

The men’s lawyers had argued during the trial that the defendants had not planned a conspiracy and were only following the leader of the militia. The criminal offense of conspiracy is not easy to prove. To do this, the prosecution must prove that two or more people conspired to overthrow the US government or to use force to defy its authority.

dpa