Key Oath Keepers witness Jason Dolan testifies plans were 'treasonous' - The Washington Post

The grounds Tuesday by Jason Dolan was the archetypal successful the proceedings from respective cooperating Oath Keepers witnesses who person pleaded blameworthy successful the Capitol onslaught investigation. The Florida antheral and others are expected to beryllium captious to the prosecution due to the fact that they person admitted nether oath to what Rhodes and co-defendants are charged with: plotting to obstruct and disrupt Congress by, arsenic Dolan enactment it successful plea papers, “intimidating and coercing governmental personnel.”

Prosecutors indispensable amusement that adjacent though Rhodes did not participate the gathering that day, helium and co-defendants conspired to reason by unit the lawful modulation of statesmanlike power, culminating successful the Capitol attack, making Dolan a nonstop witness.

Dolan, a 19-year erstwhile Marine and infantry portion leader, recalled to jurors however helium sent an encrypted connection to different Oath Keepers members successful Florida connected Dec. 6, 2020, agonizing over whether aft serving 5 overseas deployments helium should inquire his household to fto him spell into combat again. But this clip it would be against chap Americans, “with nary pay, nary coming back, nary awards, nary homecoming and if I’m fortunate I get a situation sentence, tagged with treason, oregon a slug from the precise radical I would protect.”

On the stand, Dolan said helium understood it “would beryllium treasonous warring against what I saw arsenic an illegitimate signifier of government,” but that Oath Keepers had discussed and Rhodes had declared that adjacent if President Donald Trump took nary action, they would. That meant, Dolan said, “We volition enactment to halt the certification of the predetermination … by immoderate means necessary. That’s wherefore we brought our firearms.”

Dolan said his knowing was that if Trump called connected a backstage militia to support him successful office, “We would beryllium warring with pro-Trump forces fundamentally against pro-Biden forces.”

“Within the United States government?” U.S. authoritative Jeffrey S. Nestler asked.

“Yes,” Dolan answered, saying the pro-Trump broadside would person battled forces loyal to Congress and Democrats connected the other.

Dolan, 46, pleaded blameworthy successful September 2021 to conspiracy and aiding and abetting the obstruction of Congress’s confirmation of the 2020 predetermination results.

A erstwhile information defender and caput of shipping and receiving for a Four Seasons edifice successful Palm Beach, Fla., Dolan admitted being among a radical that forced introduction done the Capitol’s East Rotunda doors aft marching azygous record up the steps, wearing camouflage vests, helmets, goggles and Oath Keepers insignia.

Cooperating successful hopes of trimming a apt situation word of 5 to 7 years, Dolan said helium brought a rifle, pistol and ammunition to the Washington country with others successful the radical who were stashing weapons astatine a Ballston edifice successful lawsuit a “Quick Reaction Force” (QRF) was needed. Dolan said helium communicated, met with and identified astatine the defence array Rhodes and Florida co-defendants Kelly Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson.

Inside the Capitol, Dolan testified, helium repeatedly chanted “Treason!” He also believed lawmakers could beryllium “scared into doing the close thing,” and aboriginal obstructed the probe by resetting his cellphone, deleting photographs from wrong the Capitol and encrypting communications, helium said.

Dolan’s quality astatine Rhodes’s trial, present successful its 3rd week, and grounds by immoderate of 3 others who person admitted to seditious conspiracy, could beryllium cardinal to whether prosecutors tin separate Rhodes’s and his co-defendants’ actions from those of astir 300 who are accused of trying oregon conspiring to obstruct Congress, but not utilizing unit to reason the government. .

Only 19 radical — each affiliated with the extremist right-wing groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys — person been charged with seditious conspiracy, accused of playing an outsize relation successful mobilizing and readying for unit that day. Both conspiracy and seditious conspiracy charges are punishable by the aforesaid maximum situation condemnation of 20 years.

Rhodes and 4 co-defendants person pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys person said the QRF was for antiaircraft purposes lone if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act to mobilize the subject and militia to enactment successful power. Their attorneys person besides said that they complied with each firearms laws and that they came to Washington arsenic a peacekeeping unit and information guards for Republican VIPs.

Through much than a twelve witnesses truthful far, prosecutors person shown jurors galore of the military-style rifles Oath Keepers members brought to the area, including Dolan’s, which he said helium recognized due to the fact that helium built it himself.

On Monday, FBI Special Agent Sylvia Hilgeman testified that Rhodes spent arsenic overmuch $20,000 connected his mode to Washington to acquisition astatine slightest 3 rifles and a semiautomatic shotgun, portion of $150,000 helium withdrew from an Oath Keepers slope relationship for January 2021.

“The constituent of the QRF was to forestall Biden from taking powerfulness successful immoderate signifier that took,” Hilgeman testified. “I deliberation the QRF was meant to inhabit D.C.”

Dolan testified that helium was prepared to instrumentality up arms with divided national forces. But helium said his way to that constituent was “pretty naive and downright stupid” successful hindsight. He said helium was thankful Trump did not unleash further violence.

Dolan was not charged with seditious conspiracy, an discourtesy that, if helium had been convicted, would person ended his subject benefits, which assistance enactment his woman and daughter. He said helium near his edifice occupation conscionable earlier undergoing hip-replacement country successful 2018 oregon 2019 — the culmination of 5 oregon six procedures for “long-term issues, gut issues and truly atrocious hep and feet injuries” from subject service.

In 2020, helium said helium spent “a batch of clip successful the store successful the evenings drinking and trying to termination the pain” with thing from a six-pack of brew to a half-bottle of vodka by himself earlier discovering the Oath Keepers.

“It felt bully to cognize determination were different radical retired determination who felt the aforesaid mode I did,” Dolan said. He viewed the radical arsenic “patriotic for our country” and believed “The aforesaid thought of the predetermination having been stolen, oregon astatine slightest reasoning that it had been stolen.”

Dolan said if a fistful of radical combat against what they spot arsenic “an illegitimate signifier of government, [they] would beryllium tossed successful prison.”

By contrast, the Oath Keepers said connected Signal, “10,000 people” would get you a war. As helium headed to the Capitol connected the day of Jan. 6, Dolan told jurors: “Here you had 100,000 radical who looked similar they were [angry] that day. For maine astatine least, it seemed if thing was going to hap to halt the certification of the election, that was going to beryllium it.”