Federal prosecutors are back in court working to link four more Oath Keepers defendants with Stewart Rhodes, the milita group leader who was convicted of seditious conspiracy. Fox 4 reports that Rhodes and co-defendant Kelly Meggs became the first two defendants convicted of rarely used seditious conspiracy. Three others were acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on other charges.
Federal prosecutors began making their case Monday against North Texan, Roberto Minuta. Prosecutors allege that he among others was planning to violently prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election. While Rhodes was not in the courtroom Monday, his name was often invoked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards during opening statements. Fox 4 says that Rhodes said:
“[Minuta] called everyone to prepare and swarm those streets,” “The comparison between Rhodes’ and Minuta’s words is staggering.”
Right now, it's unclear whether Rhodes will personally play a direct role in the trial. After his conviction, Rhodes' attorneys said his client would be willing to testify as a witness. This second trial is expected to last for at least five-to-six weeks and includes testimony from dozens of witnesses. The first trial took 10 weeks to complete, although it was slowed by multiple delays. One such delay, was Rhodes testing positive for COVID-19 in the middle of the trial.
Fox 4 reports that Minuta's lawyers said that the government is manipulating the evidence to make it appear as though there were shared goals and a meeting of the minds between all of these people all over the country. The lawyers also alleged the government was cherry-picking evidence to support
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