Defendants attack U.S. 'manipulation' of evidence in Oath Keepers trial - The Washington Post

“Make nary mistake, helium [Rhodes] wanted to commencement a civilian war,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Nestler said. “They wanted to onslaught what they saw arsenic an illegitimate government. Their ain statements beryllium the government’s case.”

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta submitted the lawsuit to the assemblage aft 8 weeks of trial, 46 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits. The assemblage is acceptable to statesman deliberations astatine 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, instrumentality disconnected the remainder of Thanksgiving week if nary verdict is reached, and resume deliberations adjacent week.

Defense lawyer Bradford Geyer formed lawsuit Kenneth Harrelson arsenic a follower, not a person connected Jan. 6. The assemblage did not spot Harrelson’s communications — not due to the fact that helium deleted them, arsenic prosecutors alleged, but due to the fact that helium didn’t enactment successful planning, Geyer argued.

“This is nary longer astir scary words,” Geyer said, “which is atrocious enough. Now you’re asked to convict based connected what helium mightiness person been thinking.”

He said Harrelson was apolitical, lone agreed to question to D.C. connected Jan. 4, 2021, and ne'er had immoderate volition of entering the Capitol, though helium did truthful arsenic portion of a stack of Oath Keepers connected the eastbound broadside of the building.

Geyer and Jonathan Crisp, the lawyer for suspect Jessica Watkins, criticized however prosecutors presented videos and evidence, calling it “government manipulation oregon deception.” He noted that prosecutors showed radical chat discussions connected the Signal app, utilized by Rhodes and galore different members earlier and during Jan. 6, but omitted definite posts and wrongly implied Watkins responded to messages she did not answer.

Watkins admitted connected the basal that she went into the Capitol, and apologized for it.

Crisp noted that prosecutors ne'er asked Watkins, during her testimony, if determination was “a program to halt the certification. A program to overthrow the government. ... She was ne'er asked astir that.”

He said prosecutors “will enactment thing successful beforehand of you, to prevarication and twist it. If they volition spell to this utmost for their narrative, for their context, they are entitled to nary credibility.”

Crisp and David Fischer, lawyer for Virginia nonmigratory Thomas Caldwell, some said their clients believed that by 2:20 p.m. connected Jan. 6, erstwhile members of Congress were evacuated, that the confirmation had been completed. Therefore, Watkins and Caldwell had nary volition of disrupting the electoral assemblage count.

“Can you halt thing that’s already stopped?” Crisp asked. “How bash you termination a dormant body?” But the electoral assemblage number had lone been postponed, and was restarted astir six hours later.

Nestler responded that Congress wasn’t dead. He argued that Watkins and Caldwell were communicating with radical extracurricular the metropolis and knew the number hadn’t been completed.

Fischer noted that Caldwell had nary connection with Rhodes aft mid-November. Fischer besides said the authorities initially accused Caldwell of being an Oath Keepers person who went into the Capitol, allegations that prosecutors aboriginal rescinded. Caldwell wasn’t recovered connected immoderate of the Oath Keepers’ Signal chats oregon telephone meetings, and lone communicated with a North Carolina Oath Keepers radical that had divided disconnected from Rhodes, Fischer said.

Caldwell is accused of coordinating a “Quick Reaction Force” with an arsenal of guns based astatine an Arlington hotel, but “why would the Oath Keepers person a non-Oath Keeper coordinate the QRF?” Fischer asked. “Mr. Caldwell had nary interaction with Stewart Rhodes. He had nary interaction with Oath Keepers connected Jan. 6. None. He’s the coordinator of the QRF? How’s that work?”