Far-right activists convicted of “sedition” for assault on the Capitol

Four activists from the far-right group Oath Keepers were found guilty Monday of sedition for participating in the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol of USA.

For this attack, more than 950 supporters of the former Republican president donald trump they have been arrested and accused of wreaking havoc in the seat of American democracy.

LOOK HERE: Trial begins against 5 members of the Proud Boys group for attacking the US Capitol.

Among them, only 14 activists from far-right groups – nine members of “Oath Keepers” and five of “Proud Boys”- have been accused of “sedition”, a charge that is punishable by up to 20 years in prison for having planned the use of force to oppose the government. In this case, when trying to prevent congressmen from certifying the victory of the Democratic president Joe Biden about Donald Trump in the November 2020 elections.

Due to lack of space in the federal court in Washington, justice organized the trial of the Oath Keepers, accused of having trained and armed for the occasion, in two stages.

A first trial concluded at the end of November with a mitigated verdict: the founder of this militia, stewart rhodesand a local official were found guilty of sedition, but the three co-defendants were acquitted of this charge.

On Monday, at the end of the second trial, jurors found guilty the final four Oath Keepers, men between the ages of 38 and 64 described as dangerous “traitors” by the prosecution but “bright” by their lawyers. They are Roberto Minuta, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel and Edward Vallejo.

The trial of the Proud Boys, including their leader Enrique Tarrio, began in December and was still continuing Monday in the same court.

In another court hearing, in Washington, Richard Barnett, the American who became famous for being immortalized sitting in the office of then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, during the assault, was found guilty of causing disorder in Congress and other crimes.

After brief deliberation, jurors concluded that Richard Barnett, 62, is guilty of, among other things, obstructing official process, robbery, and trespassing on an official building with a dangerous weapon.

By dangerous weapon they mean a baton capable of emitting electric shocks.

On January 6, 2021, the AFP photographed him in the office of the head of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with his feet on a piece of furniture. The photograph went around the world and allowed the police to quickly arrest him.

MORE INFORMATION: Oath Keepers leader denies planning attack on US Capitol.

According to the indictment, this supporter of the Qanon conspiracy movement left an insulting message to the democrat and stole an envelope that she had signed.

During the trial, he was defiant, claiming that the crowd “pushed him into” the Capitol.

Sentencing will be handed down in May and he will remain under house arrest with an electronic bracelet in the meantime.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.