The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members said Wednesday that it would be “frightening” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to pardon the rioters who stormed the US Capitol nearly four years ago. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him and other Oath Keepers members guilty of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge stemming from the January 6, 2021 attack by a mob of Trump supporters.
United State District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon as he sentenced William Todd Wilson, a Ex Oath Keepers member from NC who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.
“The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” according to Mehta.
Mehta is not the first federal judge in Washington, D.C., to express concern about the possibility of Trump pardoning hundreds of Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next month.
During a hearing last month, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, stated that it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if the Republican president-elect pardoned all Capitol rioters.
Trump repeatedly referred to Jan. 6 rioters as “hostages” and “patriots” during his campaign trial this year, and he stated that he “absolutely” would pardon rioters who assaulted police “if they are innocent.”
Trump has also hinted that he might consider pardoning former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a separate plot to disrupt the peaceful transition of presidential power from Trump to President Joe Biden.
Over 20 judges have presided over more than 1,500 cases involving those charged in the Jan. 6 riot. Many Capitol riot defendants have requested post-election delays in their cases, but judges have largely denied them, moving forward with sentencings, guilty pleas, and other hearings.
Wilson, 48, of Newton Grove, North Carolina, was one of several Oath Keepers who cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation into the far-right extremist group, which resulted in one of the most significant prosecutions following the January 6 siege.
Instead of sending Wilson to prison, Mehta sentenced him to one year of home detention and three years of probation. Prosecutors had recommended that Wilson, a former firefighter and US Army veteran, serve one year in prison.
The judge praised Wilson’s courage for admitting his guilt while many of his co-conspirators did not.
“Setting the history books straight came at a great price to you,” Mehta told Wilson, who lost his military benefits after pleading guilty in May 2022.
Rhodes and his followers gathered weapons and established “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel to transport guns into the nation’s capital if necessary to support their plot. The guns remained at the hotel, but Mehta said it is chilling to think that “one order from a madman” could have resulted in weapons being used during a riot.
“Just to speak those words out loud ought to be shocking to anyone,” according to the judge.
Wilson did not testify in any of the trials for Oath Keepers leaders, members, or associates charged with the January 6 attack. Prosecutors claimed he undermined his credibility by making contradictory statements to investigators about his criminal activities.
“What we want to hear from witnesses is the truth, unvarnished, and without any attempt to curry favor with the government,” said Assistant US Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy.
Wilson expressed regret and shame over his role in the January 6 attack.
“I have lost a lot of things since then,” he stated. “The mental burden that this has had on me has been almost unbearable.”
Also on Wednesday, prosecutors asked a different judge to deny a convicted Capitol rioter’s request to attend Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony in Washington while she is under court supervision.
Cindy Young, a rioter from New Hampshire, was sentenced to four months in prison and one year of supervised release on November 21.
Prosecutors argued that Young is a threat to the nation’s capital and the police officers who defended it on January 6. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey granted Young until December 24 to respond to prosecutors’ arguments.