DOJ charges Oath Keepers founder, 10 others with seditious conspiracy related to Jan. 6 riot

The Department of Justice unveiled seditious conspiracy charges against 11 defendants, including the founder and leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia group, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, for their role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

On Jan. 6, 2021, after then-President Trump had repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election had been stolen from him, thousands of his supporters left his rally at Freedom Plaza near the White House and headed toward the Capitol. Lawmakers evacuated the complex and temporarily suspended the certification of the Electoral College results as rioters broke through police lines and entered the building.

A Capitol Police officer fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, who was attempting to force her way into the House chamber. Another person died during the riot after suffering a drug overdose, and two others died naturally from medical emergencies. Brian Sicknick, a 42-year-Capitol Police officer, got hit with pepper-spray during the chaos and died the next day after suffering from two thromboembolic strokes. Four other officers who responded to the riot committed suicide in the months following.