Federal Judge Amit Mehta has rejected a push by Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes to be released from custody ahead of his Capitol riot-tied trial on charges including seditious conspiracy. As summarized by The Washington Post, Rhodes and fellow members of his organization who’ve also been charged with seditious conspiracy have been accused “of coordinating travel, organizing into teams, undergoing paramilitary training, and staging weapons,” some of which Rhodes bought. Weapons were stashed at a hotel in the vicinity of D.C. for the potential usage of people in the city. Individuals on the inside of the Oath Keepers conspiracy apparently anticipated a possibility of Trump invoking a federal law known as the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy a “militia” to go after “rebellion,” as USA Today put it. Oath Keepers were preparing to be that so-called militia.
DETENTION: Mehta has ordered that Stewart Rhodes be held in jail while he awaits trial. He says there are no release conditions he could fashion that would minimize Rhodes' dangerousness.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 18, 2022
Mehta noted in Rhodes’s case that if “the conduct as alleged is true, the danger it poses cannot be understated,” adding that the far-right leader allegedly “devised and carried out a plot to prevent the lawful transition of presidential power.” If he was allowed out, Rhodes might “continue to plot and prepare for political violence that undermines the foundation of our democracy,” the judge observed. Mehta arrived at these conclusions after Rhodes appealed a decision by federal Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson to also leave him locked up ahead of his trial. Johnson had concluded, among other points, that Rhodes posed a flight risk; he’s been reported to have set up a tunnel network in his backyard for hypothetical getaways, and he also stashed unregistered cars in wooded areas near his residence.
HAPPENING NOW: You might thing Judge Mehta would call it a day after issuing a 112-page ruling about Trump. But no, he's actually about to preside over the second half of the detention hearing for Oath Keepers leader Stewart RHODES.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 18, 2022
Rhodes, Mehta noted, “is accused not just of speaking. He is accused of taking action, gathering people, and planning to disrupt the lawful electoral certification process… of authorizing, if not outright, ordering conspirators to enter the Capitol in tactical gear.” Accordingly, he could easily be considered a danger to the community if allowed to exit custody ahead of his trial.
Let's not mince words here: Donald Trump attempted to use every government resource available to him to overturn the 2020 election, and has thwarted efforts at every turn that would make those efforts public knowledge. His contempt for our democracy cannot be tolerated.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) February 19, 2022
Rhodes has been alleged to have planned for violence for some time before the riot, including through substantial weapons purchases. Notably, Mehta concluded this week in a separate matter that the argument could be made — whether or not it’s proven — that then-President Trump entered into a kind of conspiracy with far-right groups. Mehta laid out this finding while allowing civil litigation against Trump for his incitement of the Capitol riot to proceed. As the judge put it regarding certain far-right Trump backers, it “is reasonable to infer that the President knew that these were militia groups and that they were prepared to partake in violence for him.” Trump “thus plausibly would have known that a call for violence would be carried out by militia groups and other supporters,” the federal judge pointedly added.
In his ruling, Judge Mehta says the evidence suggests Trump instructed the Jan. 6 crowd to march on the Capitol, despite knowing it likely included violent elements.
He rejected Trump's claim that he's immune from lawsuits.
He rejected Trump's claim his conduct was protected.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 19, 2022
