Fogbow

Pre-sentencing hearings begin TODAY in seditious conspiracy case of Stewart Rhodes

Victim impact statements will be heard by judge.

Justice Dept is going to try to secure a 25-year prison sentence against Stewart Rhodes

As rioters ransacked Congress and hunted for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Capitol Police Officer David Lazarus, the lead agent on Pelosi’s security detail, felt like he was running through quicksand.

First, he clamored to evacuate members of congressional leadership to a secure location. Then he had to free stranded lawmakers from their offices across the Capitol complex. Next came the urgent calls from Pelosi’s Capitol suite, where trapped staff members hid for hours under a conference table in a locked room.

There had already been reports of pipe bombs discovered at the nearby RNC and DNC buildings — could there be others marked for the Capitol? Lazarus wondered — and soon, another alert came across his radio: Shots fired by the House chamber. Amid the fear, chaos and confusion, Lazarus on Wednesday described another sensation that he says sticks with him to this day: Inadequacy.

“I felt nothing I did would be enough,” he recalled.

Terri McCullough, Pelosi’s chief of staff, recalled the Capitol morphing into a “crime scene” and said she expects to carry the pain and horror she felt “every day for the rest of my life.” Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who has been outspoken about the suffering of his colleagues as a result of Jan. 6, said he fears for his safety and dreads being at work. He says some colleagues still avoid certain parts of the Capitol to avoid triggering painful memories. Metropolitan Police Officer Christopher Owens cried as he recalled his wife’s reaction to seeing his battered body, when he returned from his 18-hour Jan. 6 shift at the Capitol, covered in bear spray, mace and other chemicals.

Virginia Brown, a 21-year-old college student who worked as a Senate chambers assistant on Jan. 6, recalled her initial excitement at being chosen to carry boxes of certified presidential elector certificates between the House and Senate chamber during the proceedings. Instead, her memories of that day include “sprinting through the underground chambers of the Capitol” and removing her shoes because she believed she could run faster in her tights.

“I cannot measure how many hours of sleep I lost,” she said, describing her efforts to cope after Jan. 6 “The trauma cannot be undone.”

sterngard friegen wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 10:26 am Hoping this Yale Law graduate gets at least 10 years. He is so stupid that I suspect Yale let him in based on his military service. Bad move.

Scott MacFarlane
@MacFarlaneNews
Defense: Rhodes "was not a general on the battlefield directing his troops"

Defense says Rhodes was "aghast" at what happened on Jan 6

Jordan Fischer
@JordanOnRecord
Stewart Rhodes' attorneys are focusing in this morning on the "coincidence," as they describe it, of a three-way phone call between Rhodes, Kelly Meggs and Michael Greene shortly before Meggs lead the first stack into the Capitol. They deny it included an order to enter.

@MacFarlaneNews
Judge is gonna rule on some of the sentencing enhancements

Judge begins by saying OathKeepers "discussed in advance the need to use force" .. "it was clearly foreseeable to Mr. Rhodes that if he brought his people to the Capitol.. they would've gone in"

Roger Parloff
@rparloff
·
6m
so 4-level enhancement for leadership applies. not a close call.
the 6-level enhancement for terrorism--definition of seditious conspiracy meets that. ... their objective was to affect conduct of govt thru intimidation & coercion by means of force.

@JordanOnRecord
Judge Mehta calculates Stewart Rhodes' final offense level at 39. With no criminal history points, that means his recommended sentencing guideline is 262-327 months in prison. ~21-27 years in prison. The maximum sentence for seditious conspiracy is 20 years.

@MacFarlaneNews
Per what Judge Mehta has just said: Sentencing guidelines range for Rhodes is roughly 21-27 years

Here comes the Justice Dept to make its argument for 25 years.. standby

RVInit wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 11:46 am Holy shit. Terrorism enhancement applies

Roger Parloff
@rparloff
·
6m
so 4-level enhancement for leadership applies. not a close call.
the 6-level enhancement for terrorism--definition of seditious conspiracy meets that. ... their objective was to affect conduct of govt thru intimidation & coercion by means of force.

@JordanOnRecord
Rakoczy says Stewart Rhodes hasn't slowed down advocating for overthrowing the govt. since his arrest. As recently as four days ago he said "regime change" was necessary.

As she reads off things he's said in jailhouse interviews, one of his attorneys has his head in his hands.

@MacFarlaneNews
Defense: "Who got the million maga rally started... who got the stop the steal rally started.. who got J6 started"

"It wasn't Mr. Rhodes" Defense says Rhodes was a participant, not the organizer

@MacFarlaneNews
Rhodes: "Antifa will throw bleach, urine and other substances you don't want in your eyes"

"Antifa will stab people"

He's arguing the OathKeepers wore "garb" on Jan 6 to defend themselves

@JordanOnRecord
Rhodes says he finds it "offensive" that police officers who were injured on Jan. 6 gave victim impact statements at the Oath Keepers omnibus hearing yesterday.

@MacFarlaneNews
Judges have been consistent at Jan 6 sentencing hearings

Remorse matters
Words matter
Self-awareness matters

Rhodes just unleashed a politically-charged defense of the OathKeepers, himself & MAGA. There was no theme of remorse in his remarks, which he had months to prepare

I think my favorite part of the Stewart Rhodes sentencing so far was when his attorney spent 10 minutes arguing for a guidelines reduction for ‘Acceptance of Responsibility,’ then Rhodes gets up an hour later and blames it on Antifa.

Kendra wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 12:34 pm

@MacFarlaneNews
Judges have been consistent at Jan 6 sentencing hearings

Remorse matters
Words matter
Self-awareness matters

Rhodes just unleashed a politically-charged defense of the OathKeepers, himself & MAGA. There was no theme of remorse in his remarks, which he had months to prepare

Image found in replies to Scott's thread.

Kyle Cheney
@kyledcheney
UPDATE: Garbled the big Mehta quote a bit. Here it is:

“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic and to the very fabric of our democracy."