The District of Columbia federal grand jury returned an unsealed indictment yesterday. It charged 11 defendants, including Stewart Rhodes, with seditious conspiracy and other crime-related charges.
It marked the first time prosecutors have brought charges against the defendants in the attack. They took part in the U.S. capitol breach of January 6th that disrupted the joint U.S. congress session. The senate was in the process of ascertaining and counting the presidential election electoral votes.
The indictment alleges that Rhodes and ten others conspired to forcefully oppose the transfer of presidential power from former U.S. President Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The group also had plans to take complete control of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Allegedly, the conspiracy involved getting firearms from Washington D.C. outskirts and distributing them to the quick reaction force teams to ensure Trump keeps the office.
The seditious conspiracy charge has a maximum possible sentence of 20 years. A federal court judge will determine the sentence after considering the guidelines of U.S. sentencing and other statutory factors.
Rhodes, 56 years old, lives in Granbury, Texas, is a former U.S. Army paratrooper, and was arrested early on Thursday evening.
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