This Tuesday, after the selection of the jury, the trial of the far-right paramilitary group, Oath keepersfor the events resulting from the attack on the United States Capitol in January 6, 2021.
As the note on the BBC en Español site tells us, there is one of the accused Stewart Rhodesthe leader and founder of the group, and four other people.
The group is prosecuted for the crime of seditious conspiracy – for opposing the transfer of presidential power – and could obtain a up to 20 years of imprisonment.
Who are the Guardians of the Oath?
The translation of his name would be “keepers of the oath”. This sentence is taken from the promise of service made by the police, army and other officials.
According to the same note cited, it is an anti-government group in favor of arms launched in 2009. Its mission is centered on the recruiting people with military and police experience, as well as other front-line combat workers.
Rhodes is a former US Army paratrooper who studied at Yale Law School and was an assistant to Republican Libertarian Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
The actions of Oath Keepers
In 2014, the group was identified in a gunfight between a Nevada farmer and police. That same year they attended in Ferguson, Missouri, during protests after a police officer shot and killed a black man, Michael Brown.
“The danger is that they find themselves in already tense situations andincrease the likelihood of violence“said Alex Friedfeld, a researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
Action of Oath Keepers in 2021
The note from the BBC en Español tells that prosecutors in the case assure that Rhodes has launched a campaign to reject the results of the presidential elections of November 2020 two days after the vote, when the count was still in effect.
Of, Rhodes He reportedly wrote to his followers on Signal’s messaging app: “We won’t make it without a civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body and spirit.”
On January 6, 2021, a mix of groups gathered in front of the Capitol after then-President Donald Trump held a political rally nearby.
trump He urged his supporters to march to the Congress venue to “make their voices heard in a peaceful and patriotic way”. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you won’t have a country anymore.”
The Oath keepers they were present at that demonstration. According to recent research, Rhodes That day he did not enter the Capitol. Although the rest of his group members did.
Source: Clarin
