Oath Keepers Leader Jailed Until Trial 01/27 06:06

   

   PLANO, Texas (AP) -- The founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers 
militia group must remain behind bars until he goes on trial on sedition 
charges arising from last year's assault on the U.S. Capitol, a federal 
magistrate ruled Wednesday.

   Stewart Rhodes had been jailed sincehis Jan. 13 arrest on charges that he 
plotted with others to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop 
Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

   In a 17-page opinion, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly Priest Johnson 
concluded that no bail conditions would either assure public safety or that the 
56-year-old Granbury, Texas, man would make court appearances.

   Prosecutors had urged Rhodes' continued detention, while his attorneys urged 
that friends or relatives have custody. One of Rhodes' lawyers, James Lee 
Bright, said Wednesday that he and his co-counsel disagree with aspects of 
Johnson's ruling and will be filing an appeal Thursday to the district court 
judge handling the case in Washington. He said Rhodes is "doing well" and looks 
forward to his trial.

   Rhodes and 10 others were the first to be charged with sedition for their 
roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in which five people died. A federal 
indictment alleges Oath Keepers for weeks discussed trying to overturn the 
election results and preparing for a siege by purchasing weapons and setting up 
battle plans.

   The indictment against Rhodes alleges Oath Keepers formed two teams, or 
"stacks," that entered the Capitol. The first stack split up inside the 
building to separately go after the House and Senate. The second stack 
confronted officers inside the Capitol Rotunda, the indictment said. Outside 
Washington, the indictment alleges, the Oath Keepers had stationed two "quick 
reaction forces" that had guns "in support of their plot to stop the lawful 
transfer of power."