U.S. prosecutors announced Friday that they had arrested and charged an additional six people associated with the far-right Oath Keepers militia in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.Five of the six were among a group of militia members who used a military-style “stack” formation to breach the Capitol, along with hundreds of others, in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying Trump rival Joe Biden’s election victory.In a statement, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia said the militiamen donned paramilitary gear and “marched up the center steps on the east side of the U.S. Capitol, breached the door at the top, and then stormed the building.” They marched on the Capitol after attending a Trump rally near the White House where Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell.”FILE – Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, center, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, June 25, 2017.Who are the Oath Keepers?The FBI describes the Oath Keepers as a “loosely organized collection” of anti-government militia members that recruits current and former members of the military, law enforcement and first responders. The group was founded in 2019 by Stewart Rhodes, a U.S. Army veteran. Rhodes, who was seen outside the Capitol during the riot, has not been arrested.The arrests marked the culmination of a weekslong effort by the FBI to arrest and charge the eight to 10 members of the military formation or stack. Videos of the rampage showing the stack both outside and inside the Capitol began circulating shortly after the attack and helped the FBI to identify the suspects.Authorities said the latest charges also offered fresh evidence of how members of the Oath Keepers began planning and coordinating the attack and using social media, text messaging and messaging apps to recruit “as large a following as possible to go to Washington, D.C., to support the January 6 operation.”In early November, Watkins, the self-styled commander of the Ohio State Regular Militia, a subset of the Oath Keepers, invited new recruits for training. She texted one, “I need you fighting fit by inauguration.”FILE – Supporters of President Donald Trump clash with police at the west entrance of the Capitol during a “Stop the Steal” protest outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021.’Wild’ event promisedIn late December, after Trump urged his ardent supporters to come to Washington for a rally, promising that it would be wild, Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter, wrote in a Facebook message, “Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your s***!!”An estimated 700 people took part in the January 6 riot. A recent analysis of the more than 200 rioters arrested so far revealed that nearly 90% had no known ties to militias or other far-right organizations.In addition to the Oath Keepers, several members of another militia known as the Three Percenters and more than a dozen members of the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump far-right group, have been arrested.
…
About The Author
