Oath Keepers trial witness: Stewart Rhodes urged Trump to stay in power by force - The Washington Post

Rhodes made the convulsive comments astatine a gathering successful Texas with Jason Alpers, who described himself connected the witnesser basal arsenic a subject seasoned and co-founder of Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG). That enactment played a cardinal relation successful spreading mendacious claims astir the 2020 predetermination done misleading and inaccurate reports astir voting instrumentality software.

On the stand, Alpers said helium had an “indirect” enactment to Trump’s “inner circle,” without elaborating.

That evident narration is wherefore Rhodes wanted to meet, Alpers testified. He said helium recorded the gathering to accurately “provide accusation to President Trump.” What helium got, helium said, disturbed him capable to yet spell to the FBI.

Alpers took the basal successful the sixth week of proceedings for Rhodes and 4 others accused of taking portion successful a seditious conspiracy against the U.S. authorities and readying to artifact the lawful modulation of statesmanlike powerfulness by force.

Kellye SoRelle, who is charged separately from Rhodes and has been described successful tribunal arsenic some his woman and an lawyer for the Oath Keepers, was besides astatine the meeting, Alpers testified.

As helium had publically earlier Jan. 6, Rhodes repeatedly said Trump should to invoke the Insurrection Act, which helium believed would let militia groups to artifact President Biden from taking office.

Rhodes told Alpers connected the signaling that if Trump gave up powerfulness “he and his family” would “wind up dead,” due to the fact that Biden would “turn the Insurrection Act against us.” He compared the predetermination to the overthrow of the czar of Russia successful 1917, aft which the full royal household was slaughtered.

Alpers testified that Rhodes wrote a akin connection for Trump: “You indispensable usage the Insurrection Act and usage the powerfulness of the President to halt him. And each of america veterans volition enactment you and truthful volition the immense bulk of the military.”

Rhodes has argued helium was only advocating for what helium believed would beryllium a lawful bid from the president. But connected the recording, Rhodes indicated helium and his followers would enactment violently adjacent if Trump did not springiness his approval.

“Here is the thing, we’re gonna fight,” Rhodes is recorded saying. “We’re not gonna fto them travel get our brothers. We’re going to fight, the fight’s going to beryllium ours.”

And if helium had known connected Jan. 6 that Trump would ne'er invoke the Insurrection Act, Rhodes said, helium would person gone further that time — including assassinating a Democratic leader.

“If he’s not going to bash the close thing, and he’s conscionable gonna fto himself beryllium removed illegally, past we should person brought rifles,” Rhodes says connected the recording. “We could person fixed it close past and there. I’d bent f------- Pelosi from the lamppost.”

Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, is currently hospitalized aft being attacked by a antheral who officials accidental was looking to termination her.

Rhodes successful the recording, besides called the riot “a bully happening successful the end,” due to the fact that it “showed the radical that we person a tone of resistance.”

But helium said if Trump near office, “everyone that was astatine the Capitol” would beryllium successful information of being charged with “felony execution … due to the fact that idiosyncratic died.” SoRelle is heard agreeing: “I cognize it’s gonna happen.”

Felony execution applies erstwhile a decease results from the committee of different felony crime.

On the recording, Alpers told Rhodes helium did not deliberation Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act. He testified that portion the instrumentality was being talked astir successful “election fraud circles,” his content was based connected the treatment successful Trump’s “inner circle.”

Alpers said helium did not present Rhodes’s words to Trump “because I didn’t hold with the message.” He besides said helium disquieted being associated with these “extremist ideologies” would wounded his “relationships and credibility.”

Alpers told The Washington Post past twelvemonth that arsenic acold arsenic helium knew, ASOG began its “election fraud project” aft helium near the company.

On a podcast past year, a erstwhile ASOG worker named Josh Merritt said Alpers connected the radical to Phil Waldron, who helium served with Afghanistan. “Alpers was intelligence operations. Waldron had engagement with intelligence operations,” Merritt said.

Waldron, a retired colonel, went to the White House aggregate times to stock purported grounds of predetermination fraud; worked straight with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani connected ineligible challenges to the ballot number and circulated a PowerPoint presumption earlier Jan. 6 arguing that Trump could usage troops to prehend ballots.

Waldron did not instantly instrumentality a petition for comment.

One ASOG study connected bundle utilized successful Antrim County, Mich., claimed to person recovered grounds of a sweeping conspiracy to hole votes. The report’s cardinal claims were instantly debunked by autarkic experts and Homeland Security officials, but Trump claimed it was “absolute proof” of fraud that would support him successful bureau for a 2nd term, erstwhile lawyer wide William P. Barr aboriginal told legislature investigators.

Alpers said helium initially did thing with the signaling due to the fact that helium “didn’t privation to get involved,” but that sometime successful the outpouring of 2021 helium met with national instrumentality enforcement.

“Asking for civilian warfare to beryllium connected American crushed and understanding, being a idiosyncratic who’s gone to war, right, that means humor is gonna get shed connected the streets wherever your household are,” helium said. “It was astatine that constituent that I benignant of measurement backmost and I’m truly benignant of questioning whether pushing this to President Trump is successful the champion interest.”

Prosecutors expect to decorativeness presenting grounds against Rhodes connected Wednesday, aft which helium and the different defendants volition marque their lawsuit to the jury.

Emma Brown contributed to this report.