Leaders of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group worked to “shatter a bedrock of American democracy” when they planned and executed a coordinated attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Justice Department alleged in federal court Monday, on the first day of their trial.
“They banded together to do whatever was necessary, up to and including using force,” prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler told a jury at the trial of five members or affiliates of the group charged with seditious conspiracy and other crimes stemming from their alleged involvement in the Capitol breach.
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and codefendants Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell were part of the group whose goal was to “stop by any means necessary the lawful transfer of power, including the taking up arms against the United States government,” Nestler said, during the government’s opening argument.
