Four Oath Keepers found guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
Washington PostJan 24, 2023
The Facts
Four members of the Oath Keepers on Monday were convicted of seditious conspiracy related to their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol and their role in attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election results in order to keep then-Pres. Trump in office.
Seditious conspiracy is defined by the US Code as two or more people attempting to "overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of the United States or to levy war against" it. It can also relate to people who “prevent, hinder or delay” the carrying out of a law or “seize, take, or possess” US property without permission.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol weren’t a peaceful protest gone awry but were a planned assault on the government and its election. More than 1k people have been charged with crimes relating to what happened that day, and these seditious conspiracy convictions are rightfully punishing those who organized and led the violence in those riots.
Republican narrative
In its case against the Oath Keepers, the Dept. of Justice is flexing its muscles to show that it can criminalize dissent, and its allies in corporate media are acting as its PR team. Despite having little-to-no evidence of a conspiracy to overthrow the government, the DOJ charged members of a conservative group with sedition. Instead of crafting a legitimate case, they built a narrative and stacked the deck in their favor.