In the new indictment, it appears that on January 4, Rhodes made a call to action on his organization’s website, insisting that “all patriots” must stand up to “support Trump’s fight for foreign and domestic to defeat enemies. attempted coup. The repeated references in the documentation to Mr. Rhodes, a former soldier and a graduate of Yale Law School, suggests prosecutors may be trying to sue him as well.
According to prosecutors, the Oath Keepers began making a conspiracy to block the election, not long after votes were cast in November. Prosecutors say on Nov. 9, Ms. Watkins, a 38-year-old bar owner from Ohio, sent a text message to several recruits saying they should “fight fit” against Inauguration Day. Shortly afterwards, according to court documents, she suggested to her recruits that they use the chat program Zello to communicate with each other during ‘operations’.
Asked about a site next week that could hold 2021, Ms. Watkins acknowledges that Mr. Biden could possibly become president, prosecutors say. “If he is, our way of life, as we know it, is over,” she wrote. “Our Republic would be over. Then it is our duty as Americans to fight for our rights, kill and die. ”
In early December, according to court documents, another person charged in the case, Graydon Young, 54, issued the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers to get involved with the group, while Mr. Crowl, a veteran of the Virginia Navy, a training camp in North Carolina. At the end of the month, the militia members turned their attention to Mr. Trump’s January 6 event in Washington and arranges them to arrange accommodation in the city and coordinate with other groups of Oath Watchers who come from North Carolina and Mississippi, prosecutors say.
On Christmas Day, according to court documents, Mr. Meggs wrote a Facebook post pointing out that guns were not allowed in Washington and suggested that he would rather bring ‘mace and gas masks, some batons’ to the event. Prosecutors say he wrote online days later about a ‘QRF’, or a rapid reaction force, that could accompany the Swordsmen to Washington. Prosecutors say the comments were made by Mr. Caldwell, who also wrote messages about creating a team of armed militia stationed outside Washington.
According to court documents, the suspects began making their way to Washington on January 4th. Mr. Young traveled from North Carolina and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn with his sister, Laura Steele, another accused in the case. Mr Crowl, Watkins and the married couple, Bennie and Sandra Parker, all drove from Ohio. Mr. Caldwell, who arrives from Virginia, paid for a room for two in a Comfort Inn in the suburbs of Washington, prosecutors say. Mrs Watkins booked her own room there, the court documents read, as did the Parkers.
The day before the attack, Mr. And Mrs. Meggs taken down to provide security during a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court where Mr. Trump’s former adviser, Roger Stone, spoke.