Latest in seditious conspiracy
Because there was no concrete plan to storm the Capitol, the defendants have been able to argue that their rhetoric was no more than that: rhetoric.
Proving Trump’s criminal liability might turn on whether the former president actually knew that his claims of widespread fraud were false or believed there to be a “high probability” they were false.
To answer the question of whether the United States needs a new domestic terrorism statute, we first have to explore how well, if at all, seditious conspiracy is already performing as a substitute.
The Oath Keepers, one of the premier anti-government movements in the United States that boasts a purported membership in the thousands, is facing an existential threat.
The indictment sets out the most serious criminal charge yet used against any of the Capitol rioters, but it also shows the limits of the criminal law in responding to Jan. 6.
On Jan. 8, a grand jury indicted Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the far-right group Oath Keepers, in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Charges against him and 10 other alleged Oath Keeper members include seditious conspiracy for organizing the plot to attack the Capitol.
The Justice Department’s pursuit of criminal charges against the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 mob invasion of the Capitol is gathering steam, but it should resist using the seditious conspiracy statute.
It's time to take another look at the 2012 trial of the Hutaree militia.