Jury deliberations begin in Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial - CNN

CNN  — 

A Washington, DC, assemblage volition statesman deliberating Tuesday successful the criminal proceedings of 5 alleged leaders of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia radical charged with seditious conspiracy.

The Justice Department alleges that the 5 defendants conspired to forcibly halt the peaceful transportation of statesmanlike powerfulness from past President Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

The jury, made up of 7 men and 5 women, volition see a full of 10 charges against defendants Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell, including 3 abstracted conspiracy charges, obstructing the electoral assemblage vote, and tampering with evidence.

All 5 person pleaded not guilty. If they are convicted of the astir superior charges, each suspect could look up to 20 years successful national prison.

“The lawsuit is yet yours, aft each these weeks,” territory Judge Amit Mehta told the assemblage Monday astatine the extremity of the two-month presumption of evidence.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors wove unneurotic messages, videos, grounds and records to amusement however the defendants from crossed the state allegedly joined unneurotic to program and execute a mode to support Trump arsenic president by immoderate means necessary.

“For these defendants, the onslaught connected the Capitol was a means to an end,” authoritative Kathryn Rakoczy said, adding that the defendants were “self-anointed to basal up for their mentation of the law, their mentation of what should person happened successful that election.”

Rakoczy continued, “The consciousness of entitlement that led to frustration, followed by rage and past violence. That is the communicative of this conspiracy, ladies and gentlemen.”

Rejecting arguments brought by the defense, Rakoczy told jurors that contempt claims determination was not an explicit bid to participate the Capitol that day, determination was a wide conspiracy to halt Biden’s ascendency by immoderate means.

Attorneys for the defendants said again and again to the assemblage that nary authorities witnesser – including erstwhile members of the Oath Keepers determination connected January 6 – could attest that determination was a nonstop program to onslaught the Capitol.

“Call it the large three,” an lawyer for Rhodes, James Lee Bright, said. “No program to tempest the Capitol … nary program to breach the Rotunda … nary program to halt the certification oregon hold the certification of the electors.”

Others were much direct, including Watkins’ lawyer Jonathan Crisp, who told jurors that the authorities had lied to them, calling the proceedings “a Michael Bay production.”

In a last rebuke, pb authoritative Jeffrey Nestler called upon jurors to spot the defendants, astir of whom are subject veterans, arsenic traitors to the state they assertion to protect.

“They claimed to beryllium Oath Keepers, they did not unrecorded up to that creed,” Nestler said. “They claimed to wrapper themselves successful the Constitution, but they trampled it instead. They claimed to beryllium redeeming the republic, but they fractured it instead.”

“These 5 people, ladies and gentlemen, believed they were supra the law. No 1 is. Now it is your solemn occupation to beryllium successful judgement of these radical who agreed to perpetrate sedition against the United States of America… we inquire you to uphold the Constitution that they tried to avert,” helium concluded.