Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison following his conviction on seditious conspiracy theories for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. 

The sentencing represents the longest prison term yet assigned to a figure involved in the riot, coming after Rhodes was found guilty on numerous other charges last November, including other felony charges such as obstruction of an official proceeding.

It’s also significant in that Rhodes never entered the Capitol that day, instead remaining on the grounds, directing his team via a walkie talkie app as they entered the building via “stack” formation. 

Judge Amit Mehta largely sided with the Justice Department, which suggested a 25-year prison sentence for Rhodes, arguing the former Army soldier encouraged other fellow veterans to violate the oaths to defend the Constitution they took when beginning their service. 

Seditious conspiracy carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, but the Justice Department also sought a terrorism enhancement for Rhodes as well as other Oath Keepers defendants.

“He exploited his vast public influence as the leader of the Oath Keepers and used his talents for manipulation to goad more than twenty other American citizens into using force, intimidation, and violence to seek to impose their preferred result on a U.S. presidential election,” the Justice Department wrote in...