周二陪审团被定罪的誓言守卫者领袖斯图尔特·罗兹把凯莉·梅格斯和煽动阴谋联系起来在1月6日对美国国会大厦的袭击中同时还宣判另外三人在叛乱中犯有各种罪行，但是陪审团宣告联邦政府对这五名被告的其他指控不成立。
在华盛顿联邦法院的审判后，陪审团在第三天的审议中做出了决定这持续了将近两个月。
与罗兹和梅格斯一起受审的还有肯尼斯·哈勒森、托马斯·考德威尔和杰西卡·沃特金斯——他们都是誓言守护者的成员和合伙人——他们都因各种指控受审，其中包括煽动性阴谋罪。
罗兹和其他被告被控在2021年1月6日阴谋以武力反对总统乔·拜登的选举团胜利的认证，以及其他多项重罪。
罗兹和梅格斯被判犯有煽动阴谋罪，这是自1995年以来陪审团第一次这样定罪。仅这一项指控，他们每个人就可能面临最高20年的监禁。
考德威尔、哈里森和沃特金斯被判无罪。
很少使用的煽动阴谋法令在内战后签署成为法律，目的是起诉可能仍然想反对政府的南方人。
自2010年以来，司法部一直没有提出煽动叛乱的指控，当时检察官指控几名密歇根州居民和胡塔利民兵组织成员阴谋以武力反对美国政府的权威。但是，在一名法官认定检察官将他们案件的太多内容取决于受第一修正案保护的言论之后，被告都被无罪释放。
This artist sketch depicts the trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2022. Shown above are, witness John Zimmerman, seated in the witne...Show moreundefined
达纳Verkouteren通过美联社，文件
打破誓言守卫者审判的裁决
罗兹还被判犯有妨碍官方程序和篡改文件/协助和教唆罪。他被判没有犯有阴谋妨碍官方程序和阴谋阻止官员履行职责的罪行。
梅格斯还被判犯有阴谋妨碍官方诉讼、妨碍官方诉讼、阴谋阻止官员履行职责和篡改文件的罪行。麦格斯被判没有破坏政府财产/协助和教唆罪。
哈勒森还被判犯有妨碍公务、阴谋阻止官员履行职责和篡改文件罪。除了煽动阴谋罪之外，哈勒森被判阴谋妨碍官方程序和破坏政府财产无罪。
沃特金斯还被判犯有阴谋妨碍公务诉讼、妨碍公务诉讼、阴谋阻止官员履行职责和扰乱社会治安罪。除了煽动阴谋罪之外，沃特金斯被判破坏政府财产/协助和教唆罪不成立。
Caldwell被判犯有妨碍官方程序和篡改文件罪，但没有犯有煽动阴谋罪、阴谋妨碍官方程序罪和阴谋阻止官员履行职责罪。
审判到目前为止
誓言守卫者在2020年11月大选后的几个月里讨论了“内战”和暴力革命的可能性。检察官利用大量电话记录、信息和录音作为证据，试图将他们的极右政治信仰与强行反对认证拜登选举胜利的愿望联系起来。
辩方辩称，该团体从未实施任何扰乱政府程序的阴谋，他们对暴力的讨论大多是口头上的，没有被认真对待。
与此同时，被告表示，他们来到华盛顿是为了提供安全保障，因为他们担心在2021年1月6日举行的支持唐纳德·特朗普的活动中，极左翼团体会采取暴力行动。三名被告——考德威尔、沃特金斯和罗兹——都选择了出庭作证。
在交叉质证和整个审判过程中，检察官展示了破坏其可信度的证据，并使用了似乎与他们无辜的解释相矛盾的信息和社交媒体帖子。梅格斯一度表示，他想在2020年大选后“继续疯狂杀戮”，并首先瞄准众议院议长南希·佩洛西。
Jury convicts Oath Keepers leader, 1 other of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial
A jury on Tuesdayconvicted Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodesand associate Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracyin the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitolwhile also convicting three others of various crimes in the insurrection -- but jurors acquitted the five defendants of other charges brought against them by the federal government.
The jury reached its determination on the third day of deliberations following a trial in federal court in Washingtonthat spanned nearly two months.
Along with Rhodes and Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Thomas Caldwell and Jessica Watkins – all fellow Oath Keeper members and associates – were on trial on various charges, including and beyond seditious conspiracy.
Rhodes and the other defendants were charged with disrupting the peaceful transfer of power by conspiring to oppose by force the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral college victory on Jan. 6, 2021, among multiple other felonies.
Rhodes and Meggs were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, the first such convictions by a jury since 1995. They could each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for that charge alone.
Caldwell, Harrelson and Watkins were found not guilty of seditious conspiracy.
The rarely-used seditious conspiracy statute was signed into law following the Civil War with the aim of prosecuting Southerners who may still want to fight against the government.
The Justice Department hasn’t brought seditious conspiracy charges since 2010, when prosecutors indicted several Michigan residents and members of the Hutaree militia with conspiring to oppose by force the authority of the U.S. government. But the defendants were all acquitted after a judge determined that prosecutors had hinged too much of their case on statements that were First Amendment protected speech.
Breaking down the verdicts in Oath Keepers trial
Rhodes was also found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and of tampering with documents/aiding and abetting. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties.
Meggs was also found guilty of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, of obstructing an official proceeding, of conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging duties and of tampering with documents. Meggs was found not guilty of destruction of government property/aiding and abetting.
Harrelson was also found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, of conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging duties and of tampering with documents. In addition to the seditious conspiracy charge, Harrelson was found not guilty of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and destruction of government property.
Watkins was also found guilty of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging duties and civil disorder. In addition to the seditious conspiracy charge, Watkins was found not guilty of destruction of government property/aiding and abetting.
Caldwell was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding and of tampering with documents but not guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging duties.
The trial so far
The Oath Keepers had discussed the possibility of “civil war” and violent revolution in the months after the November 2020 election. Using a massive cache of phone records, messages and recordings as evidence, prosecutors had attempted to tie their far-right political beliefs with a desire to forcibly oppose the certification of Biden’s election victory.
The defense argued that no plot to disrupt government proceedings ever materialized among the group and their discussions of violence were largely rhetorical and were not taken seriously.
At the same time, the defendants said they came to Washington to provide security because they feared violence from far-left groups at the pro-Donald Trump events held on Jan. 6, 2021. Three of the defendants -- Caldwell, Watkins and Rhodes -- all opted to take the witness stand.
During cross-examination and throughout the trial, prosecutors displayed evidence to undermine their credibility and used messages and social media posts that appeared to contradict their innocent explanations. At one point, Meggs said he wanted to “go on a killing spree” and first target House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following the 2020 election.
