Jan. 6: Four Oath Keepers Convicted of Obstruction

Facts

• Four associates of the far-right Oath Keepers group who marched into the US Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots were convicted Monday of conspiracy to obstruct the work of Congress.¹
• Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs, and William Isaacs face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy conviction and several other charges.²
• Meanwhile, Oath Keepers member Bennie Parker was acquitted of obstruction and one conspiracy charge, while Michael Greene was acquitted on two conspiracy charges. The jury is still deliberating on a separate conspiracy charge for Parker and an obstruction charge against Greene. All six were found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing.³
• Previously, the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) earned convictions on seditious conspiracy charges against six other Oath Keepers, including leader Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, a top deputy. The six defendants in the most recent trial were not charged with sedition.⁴
• Throughout its Oath Keepers cases, the DOJ pointed to their stockpile of weapons and alleged plan to ferry them into DC as signs they intended for the day’s events to become violent. The defendants argued they were in DC to provide security for VIPs at a Trump rally.⁵
• This third trial of Oath Keepers members concluded as the DOJ wrapped up its case against Enrique Tarrio and members of the far-right Proud Boys group, who have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their alleged plan to also stop the election certification.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Reuters, ³Associated Press, ⁴USA Today, ⁵POLITICO, and ⁶Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. More than two years since the attack on the Capitol, justice is still being served and will continue to be doled out. Around 1k people have been arrested in relation to the attempt to overturn democracy, and there will be more to come. Let this be a lesson to those who might want to carry out similar attacks in the future.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. The FBI is being weaponized by Democrats, and all these cases related to Jan. 6 are illegitimate. Democrats are suppressing the testimony of a whistleblower who found the defendants are being denied their constitutionally granted due process and being aggressively apprehended even after they agreed to cooperate with the government. These are partisan attacks against political opponents, not justice.