Events of January 6, 2021 – Militia Leaders Arrested and Charged with Capitol Storming – News

  • A year after the storming of the US Capitol, the Justice Department has filed charges against the leader of the right-wing militia “Oath Keepers” and ten other members of the group.
  • The ministry in Washington said they were charged with “seditious conspiracy”. The founder and leader of the militia, Stewart Rhodes, was arrested in the state of Texas.
  • In addition, the investigative committee on the storming of the US Capitol requested internal information from Facebook and other social media companies under threat of punishment.

For the militia chief, it is the first charge in connection with the attack on the Capitol, said the ministry, which is also responsible for law enforcement. Several other members had previously been charged on other counts.

Legend:

According to the Justice Department, Rhodes is said to have conspired with the co-defendants with the aim of using violence to prevent the change of power after the presidential election. He himself did not enter the Capitol a year ago.

Reuters/Archive

Among other things, Rhodes and his supporters planned to travel to Washington on January 6, 2021, organized weapons and paramilitary equipment and organized training in combat techniques in advance. Several of the accused entered the Capitol themselves. Others would have taken care of further coordination outside of the congressional seat.

This is how the storming of the Capitol went

A maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison could be imposed for “seditious conspiracy”, it said. According to the Justice Department, more than 725 people have been arrested in almost every state in connection with the attack. The investigation into the case is ongoing.

Social media companies should release documents

The committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol also requested internal information from YouTube, Reddit, Twitter and the platforms of the Facebook group Meta, under threat of punishment. These companies had not yet voluntarily provided the information requested, even after months of exchange.

Legend:

Mark Zuckerberg testified via videoconference during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in November 2020. The title of the hearing was “Censorship, Repression and the 2020 US Election”. He was questioned about the practices of social media companies.

Keystone/Archive

Firms now have two weeks to comply with the requirement. If they refuse, the cases will probably soon be dealt with in the courts. It is about examining how the spread of misinformation contributed to the violent attack on US democracy, the panel said.

In addition, it must be disclosed what steps the platforms may have taken to prevent them from being “breeding grounds for people to be radicalized to violence,” it said.

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