Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — the longest sentence handed down to date and the first for a charge of seditious conspiracy.
“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy and the very fabric of this country,” said U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, characterizing Rhodes as a uniquely powerful driver of the threat to democracy that day. “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.”
Rhodes, 58, is the first of 14 Jan. 6 defendants, including nine Oath Keepers, to face sentencing after being convicted of — or pleading guilty to — seditious conspiracy.