A Washington, DC, federal jury will continue deliberations on Monday in the conspiracy trial against six people affiliated with the right-wing Oath Keepers militia group for their alleged actions on January 6, 2021.
Prosecutors and defense counsel concluded their closing arguments on Friday, after which jurors debated for about 30 minutes before being sent home.
While six members and affiliates of the group, including leaders Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, have been convicted by juries in Washington, DC, of seditious conspiracy, this group – an assortment of disparate individuals who joined others in the Oath Keepers that day – faces a lesser charge of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. All have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Troy Edwards argued that the defendants “ignored the will of the people” by storming the US Capitol grounds “because they hated the outcome of the 2020 election.”
“These six people believed they were above the law. No one is,” Edwards said on Friday.
According to the Justice Department, members and affiliates of the Oath Keepers joined together in a stack formation on the steps of the Capitol, snaking their way through the crowd and into the building.
Defendants Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs entered the Capitol, prosecutors say, and some of them allegedly tried to make their way to the Senate chamber before being deterred by pepper spray and police officers in the building.
Isaacs, 22, joined the Oath Keepers group at the behest of his aunt, who thought the militia might help him fight off the depression he faced after his dad passed away, according to his attorney, Eugene Rossi.
Rossi also said that Isaacs is on the autism spectrum, a condition that is especially triggered by stressful events like those at the Capitol that day….
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