A harsh reality set in Thursday for Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the Oath Keepers.
A federal judge in D.C. sentenced Rhodes, 58, to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 riot and trying to keep President Donald Trump in office. The sentence was seven years short of the 25 years federal prosecutors had requested.
“What we absolutely cannot have is a group of citizens who – because they did not like the outcome of an election, who did not believe the law was followed as it should be – foment revolution,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said before handing down the sentence, according to CCN. “That is what you did.” Mehta was appointed to the bench in 2014 by President Barack Obama.
“I dare say, Mr. Rhodes – and I never have said this to anyone I have sentenced – you pose an ongoing threat and peril to our democracy and the fabric of this country,” Mehta said.
“I dare say we all now hold our collective breaths when an election is approaching. Will we have another January 6 again? That remains to be seen.”
