4 Oath Keepers Convicted of Seditious Conspiracy in Jan. 6 Riots

Four members of the far-right Oath Keepers organization were found guilty of seditious conspiracy on Monday, with the Washington, D.C., jury returning a verdict after a five-week trial. Joseph Hackett, 52; Roberto Minuta, 38; David Moerschel, 45; and Edward Vallejo, 64, were accused of plotting to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election result, using what prosecutors called “a perverted version of American history” to justify their scheme, which eventually culminated in the Capitol riots. “They claimed to wrap themselves in the Constitution, but they trampled it,” prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler said in his closing argument. “They ignored the will of the people… [but] had the audacity to claim to be oath-keepers.” The conviction comes two months after Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and lieutenant Kelly Meggs were tried and convicted under the rarely used charge of seditious conspiracy. (Three other militia members were acquitted of the charge in that trial.) A sentencing date for the four men was not set on Monday, but they face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy convictions alone. They were also found guilty of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and of conspiring to destroy federal property.