Several members of the far-right militia “Oath Keepers” have been convicted more than two years after the storming of the US Capitol. A jury in Washington DC on Monday found four men guilty of, among other things, ‘inciting conspiracy’.
A crime that rarely occurs in the history of justice in the United States, as various American media reported unanimously. The suspects were charged with conspiracy to use force to prevent the democratic transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election. It was not until November that the leader of the militia, Stewart Rhodes, was also convicted of “seditious conspiracy”.
Maximum sentence of up to 20 years possible
The sentence for the convicts will be determined at a later date – a date for this has not yet been set. The maximum penalty for “incendiary conspiracy” is up to 20 years in prison.
The crime is not easy to prove. To do this, the prosecution must prove that two or more people conspired to overthrow the US government or to use force to defy its authority. The men’s lawyers had argued at trial that the defendants had not plotted a conspiracy and were following only the leader of the militia.
Stormed the Capitol in January 2021
On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump, who was voted out at the time, stormed the Houses of Parliament in Washington to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s November 2020 election victory from being confirmed – several people were killed. The attack on the heart of American democracy shocked the country. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech.
Source: Krone
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