Pardoning Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for Capitol riot plot would be ‘terrifying’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge who presided over the outrageous conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members said Wednesday it would be “terrifying” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election .

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon rioters who stormed the US capital nearly four years ago. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him and other Oath Keepers members of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon when he sentenced William Todd Wilsona former Oath Keepers member from North Carolina who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.

“The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be exonerated for his actions is terrifying and should be terrifying to anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” Mehta said.

Mehta is not the first judge at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC to criticize the possibility that Trump could pardon hundreds of Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next month. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, said at a hearing last month that it would be “ beyond frustrating and disappointing ” if the Republican president-elect issues blanket pardons for Capitol rioters.

On the campaign trail this year, Trump repeatedly referred to rioters on Jan. 6 as “hostages” and “patriots” and said he would “absolutely” pardon rioters who assaulted police “if they’re innocent.” Trump has also suggested he would consider pardoning the former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarriowas sentenced to 22 years in prison for a separate plot to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Trump to President Joe Biden.

More than 20 judges have presided over more than 1,500 cases against people charged in the January 6 riots. Many Capitol riot defendants have asked for post-election delays in their cases, but judges have largely rejected their requests and moved forward with sentencing, guilty pleas and other hearings.

Wilson, 48, of Newton Grove, North Carolina, was one of several Oath Keepers who cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation into the far-right extremist group — one of the most consequential prosecutions to emerge after the Jan. 6 siege.

Mehta sentenced Wilson to one year of home detention and three years of probation in lieu of prison. Prosecutors had recommended a year in prison for Wilson, a U.S. Army veteran and former firefighter.

The judge praised Wilson’s courage for admitting his guilt, while many of his co-conspirators have not.

“It has come at a great price for you to correct the history books,” Mehta told Wilson, who lost his military benefits after his guilty plea in May 2022.

Rhodes and his followers gathered weapons and set up “rapid reaction force” teams at a hotel in Virginia that could ship weapons into the nation’s capital if they were needed to support their plan. The weapons remained in the hotel, but Mehta said it is shocking to think that “one order from a madman” could have led to weapons deployed during a riot.

“Just saying those words out loud should be shocking to anyone,” the judge added.

Wilson did not testify at any of the trials for Oath Keepers leaders, members and associates charged in the January 6 attack. Prosecutors said he damaged his credibility by making conflicting statements to investigators about his criminal behavior.

“What we want to hear from witnesses is the truth, unvarnished and without an attempt to curry favor with the government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said.

Wilson expressed remorse and shame for his role in the January 6 attack.

“I’ve lost a lot of things since then,” he said. “The mental toll this has had on me has been almost unbearable.”

Also Wednesday, prosecutors asked another judge to deny a convicted Capitol rioter’s request to attend Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony in Washington while she is under court supervision. The rioter, resident of New Hampshire Cindy Youngwas convicted on Nov. 21 to four months in prison and one year of supervised release.

Prosecutors argued that Young constitutes a danger to the nation’s capital and to the police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6. U.S. Magistrate Michael Harvey gave Young until December 24 to respond to the prosecutor’s arguments.