Oath Keepers leader found guilty: Will DOJ see this as a roadmap for Trump's trial?

[marmar]

Oath Keepers leader found guilty: Will DOJ see this as a roadmap for Trump's trial?
Swift convictions suggest jury was eager to punish the real leaders of Jan. 6 — not just the foot soldiers

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 30, 2022 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) On Tuesday afternoon, when word came down that the jury in the Oath Keepers trial in Washington, D.C., had already come to a decision, the speed suggested that the defendants were doomed. So far, this has been the most complicated of all the criminal proceedings stemming from the insurrection that Donald Trump incited on Jan. 6, 2021. Most people charged with crimes after storming the Capitol on that fateful day have faced simple charges, such as obstructing government proceedings and trespassing. But for this case, the Department of Justice was asking the jury to convict the defendants on a range of criminal charges, with the most serious being seditious conspiracy, which is notoriously difficult to prove.

Under the circumstances, legal reporters repeatedly warned audiences not to assume that the five insurrectionists on trial in a D.C. federal court would actually face punishment for their crimes. But despite all the moving parts and complicating factors, the jury spent only three days deliberating, a relatively brief period under these charged circumstances. That suggests the jurors were not distracted by political pressures or the various imaginative deflections offered by defense attorney. Sure enough, both Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and his right hand man, Kelly Meggs, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, and all five defendants were convicted for obstructing an official proceeding and destroying evidence. Meggs and two other defendants, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson, were also convicted on various conspiracy charges.

Although three of the five defendants were acquitted of the sedition charge (and Rhodes was found not guilty on two conspiracy charges), this verdict should be understood overall as a resounding victory for the prosecutors. Perhaps most important, it shows that juries of ordinary citizens are fully capable of understanding the evidence that what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, was not a spontaneous riot but a preplanned insurrection. As former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason told the Washington Post, "The jury's verdict on seditious conspiracy confirms that January 6, 2021, was not just 'legitimate political discourse' or a peaceful protest that got out of hand. This was a planned, organized, violent assault on the lawful authority of the U.S. government and the peaceful transfer of power."

After this, the DOJ and Attorney General Merrick Garland should set aside any fears when it comes to indicting the head honcho of the insurrection, former President Donald Trump. In fact, that conclusion is only strengthened by the fact that the jury convicted the two leaders of the Oath Keepers on the most serious charges, while only finding their underlings guilty of lesser offenses. That reads as clear evidence that they wanted to establish accountability for those who instigated and led the insurrection, rather than watching Trump's camp followers take the fall for doing his bidding. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/11/30/oath-keeper-leader-found-guilty-now-doj-must-not-shy-away-from-indicting/

[RobertDevereaux]

1. Glenn K on the stiffening of prosecutorial spines...

[Magoo48]

2. Let's not get ahead of ourselves; what trial?

[Beastly Boy]

4. The prosecutorial spines were always stiff.

Otherwise there would have been no guilty verdicts against the Oath Keepers. Kirschner just wasn't paying attention, until the fact testifying to stiff prosecutorial spines hit him in the face with full force.

[lees1975]

3. The sound bytes from news reports have enough evidence to indict, hold, and convict FP45.

He gave the orders and instructions and it is clear, from these verdicts, that this was seditious conspiracy.

Go get him. Now.