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Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition.
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.
Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting activities that undermine the state without directly attacking it.
Amit Priyavadan Mehta is an American lawyer who has served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2014. In 2021, Mehta became a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.
The Three Percenters are an American and Canadian far-right anti-government militia.
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American far-right activist and convicted seditionist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Joseph Randall Biggs is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Elmer Stewart Rhodes III is an American former attorney and the founder of Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia. In November 2022, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering related to his participation in the January 6 Insurrection culminating at the main campus of the United States Capitol complex. On May 23, 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
In the early afternoon of Wednesday, January 6, 2021, two months after the defeat of 45th U.S. president Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob sought to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. According to the House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, is an American far-right political activist, convicted felon and a leader of the Proud Boys, an all-male neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence.
Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump attempted to overturn his November 2020 election loss to Joe Biden by attacking the U.S. Capitol Building, which disrupted the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. Two years after the attack, that number had risen to 1,000. Nearly three years later, over 1,200 people had been charged. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 as a reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly. It later became known for its use as a charge against defendants associated with the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack for attempting to obstruct that year's Electoral College vote count, including Donald Trump.
The United States Justice Department investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election began in early 2021 with investigations and prosecutions of hundreds of individuals who participated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. By early 2022, the investigation had expanded to examine Donald Trump's inner circle, with the Justice Department impaneling several federal grand juries to investigate the attempts to overturn the election. Later in 2022, a special counsel was appointed. On August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted. The indictment also describes six alleged co-conspirators.
Kelly Meggs is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Meggs was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Jeremy Bertino is an American former member of the Proud Boys who testified against Enrique Tarrio during his trial for seditious conspiracy. Bertino was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to the same charge.
Jessica Marie Watkins is an American militia founder and former Oath Keeper leader, Army veteran and bar owner who took part in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, multiple individuals plotted to use force to stop the peaceful transition of power; this was one aspect of what eventually led to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. Fourteen members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys militias were convicted of seditious conspiracy for planning and leading the attack, while an unidentified pipe-bomber remains at-large.
Harry Anthony Dunn is an American police officer and author. He has served in the United States Capitol Police since 2008. Dunn was one of many victims of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and testified with his colleagues in front of the House Select Committee investigating the attack. He has received the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Citizens Medal.
References
- ↑ McKenna, Chris (December 2, 2022). "Newburgh tattoo shop owner faces trial for seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 riot case". Times Herald-Record. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- 1 2 Rabinowitz, Hannah (January 23, 2023). "Oath Keepers members found guilty of seditious conspiracy | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- ↑ Woyton, Michael (January 24, 2023). "Newburgh Tattoo Parlor Owner Convicted Of Seditious Conspiracy". Mid Hudson Valley, NY Patch. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- 1 2 Woyton, Michael (May 29, 2020). "Tattoo Parlor To Open In Defiance Of Cuomo's Order". Mid Hudson Valley, NY Patch. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- ↑ KUNZELMAN, MICHAEL; DURKIN RICHER, ALANNA (January 23, 2023). "Four Oath Keepers convicted of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- 1 2 Rabinowitz, Hannah (June 1, 2023). "Oath Keepers member who sped to Capitol on a golf cart gets more than four years in prison | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- 1 2 "Jury deliberates in Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial". Al Jazeera. January 20, 2023. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- 1 2 Owen, Tess; Walters, Greg (March 8, 2021). "Oath Keeper Who Guarded Roger Stone in DC on January 6 Was Just Arrested". Vice. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- ↑ Griffin, Curt Devine,Mark Morales,Drew (February 10, 2021). "Man in far-right militant group joined Capitol mob after appearing with Trump ally Roger Stone | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - 1 2 Dienst, Jonathan; Valiquette, Joe (March 8, 2021). "Roger Stone Associate With Oath Keepers Ties Arrested on Capitol Riot Charges". NBC New York. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.