1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 defendant who put foot on desk in Pelosi's office sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison



Washington — An Arkansas man who was photographed propping his foot on a desk in the House speaker's office during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison on Wednesday, with a judge saying he had "not shown any acceptance of responsibility."

Richard "Bigo" Barnett was convicted on eight counts including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding and theft of government property after a trial earlier this year. A photo showing him seated at a desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office became one of the most indelible images of Jan. 6.

On Wednesday, he appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Christopher Cooper, who handed down his sentence of 54 months. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of more than seven years, noting that Barnett admitted to entering the Capitol wielding a stun gun and carrying an American flag. Cooper seemed skeptical of some of the government's arguments and imposed a shorter sentence.

Barnett addressed the court during Wednesday's sentencing hearing, saying he was "not proud" of his conduct but arguing it was not "threatening."

"They want me to be remorseful for things I did not do," he said at one point, adding that he plans to appeal his convictions and "wasn't treated fairly."

"This was an enigma in my life," Barnett said, asking for a sentence of probation. "Jan. 6 was a traumatic day for everyone … I admit I was angry and I apologize for that."

Prosecutors told the judge that Barnett played a "very important role" in delaying the certification of the 2020 election, saying, "We are not here because he was on the front of the New York Times."

His defense team argued that prosecutors went too far in bringing some of the most severe charges and said jurors in Washington, D.C., were biased against him, echoing a claim made by many Jan. 6 defendants before him. Prosecutors did not allege Barnett took part in any violent conduct.

At trial and during Wednesday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors said the 63-year-old retired firefighter and bull rider prepared to travel to Washington ahead of Jan. 6 to keep Donald Trump in power. They said he made his way into the Capitol on the day of the riot after yelling at officers outside the building. Once inside, according to the government, Barnett stole an envelope, sat behind a desk in Pelosi's office and scrawled on a piece of paper, "Hey Nancy, Bigo was here you b*****."

It was only after he threatened police and was hit with chemical spray in the Rotunda that the government says Barnett was forced out of the Capitol. Once outside, prosecutors allege Barnett "bragged" about his entry into the speaker's office and encouraged the other rioters, saying, "This is a war." He "immediately began celebrating his conquests," the government contended on Wednesday, even as the riot was still happening.

Barnett testified in his own defense at trial and underwent a lengthy and, at times, heated cross-examination. He admitted to having regrets for using a vulgar, misogynistic phrase about Pelosi and for putting his feet on the desk. He testified he was a idiot on Jan. 6, but argued his acts were not criminal.

Prosecutors alleged that much of the defendant's testimony from the stand was not true. Since the January trial, they said, he has "demonstrated his lack of remorse and refusal to take responsibility for his actions." Barnett's attorneys contended the government "has no evidence that Mr. Barnett perjured himself."

During sentencing on Wednesday, the judge listed numerous cases in which he found Barnett to have been untruthful on the stand and in court documents – calling them an "affront" — and dismissed claims that Barnett was involuntarily pushed into the Capitol and had no intention of impeding Congress.

Barnett, prosecutors said in court on Wednesday, expressed "downright mockery of the Justice System" even after he was convicted, and demonstrated an "absolute absence of remorse" for his actions that day. He has since tried to downplay the events of Jan. 6, the government argued, with "nonsensical" claims.

After his participation in the riot, according to prosecutors, Barnett even sold signed copies of photos depicting him sitting with his feet on the desk, "a picture that he characterized as 'the face of the new anti-federalist movement.'" Barnett said at sentencing that the ploy was his former attorney's idea and he never profited from the sales.

His defense team argued that the years-long penalty the government sought was unjust and rejected prosecutors' claims that the case was not solely about the picture of him behind the desk.

"Mr. Barnett is here because of the picture," his defense attorney Jonathan Gross said in court. "The government was mad because Richard Barnett was sitting at a desk."

"The worst accusations against Mr. Barnett amounted to 20 minutes of nonviolence in the Capitol, a stolen envelope, and literally seconds of verbal altercation with a police officer," his defense attorneys wrote in pretrial filings, arguing he brought the stun gun to Washington for self-protection. "Mr. Barnett never called for violence. Never called for insurrection. He was mad, but even in his anger his rhetoric was restrained and he never called for actual violence, not on January 6 and not for any time in the future."

In sentencing Barnett to 54 months in prison, Cooper said Barnett had not shown remorse.

"While you may regret having gone there that day, you have so far not shown any acceptance of responsibility," Cooper said, adding later, "You're too old for this nonsense."

Cooper commended Barnett for his life leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, but said it was hard to reconcile the defendant's actions during the riot with the rest of his life. "It was not a spur-of-the-moment reaction," he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/richard-barnett-january-6-pelosi-desk-sentencing/

[Rick Plant]

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 attack
https://apnews.com/article/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-sentencing-b3ed4556a3dec577539c4181639f666c

[Rick Plant]

Mark Meadows Flipping on Donald Trump Is 'Game Over'—Legal Expert
https://www.newsweek.com/mark-meadows-trump-special-counsel-jan6-1802571

Out of the spotlight, Mark Meadows wields quiet political power amid Trump legal woes
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/24/politics/meadows-dc-political-operation-legal-woes-trump/index.html


Is Mark Meadows cooperating with Jan. 6 investigators? If so it's 'game over': legal experts



Mark Meadows is rumored to be cooperating with federal investigators looking into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, which legal experts say could be ruinous for the former president.

A source connected to Trump told CNN they've heard rumors that the former White House chief of staff, who's advising Republican lawmakers during the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiation, may be cooperating with federal investigators or possibly is a target of a criminal probe himself, and Newsweek reported that legal expert Ryan Goodman said that would be a major development.

"If he's cooperating, it's game over," tweeted Goodman, a former Defense Department special counsel.

Meadows spent Jan. 6, 2021, with Trump as the insurrection unfolded and played a key role in the ex-president's attempts to remain in power in spite of his election loss, and he reportedly was in direct communication with the organizers of the "Stop the Steal" protest that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot.

Special counsel Jack Smith reportedly subpoenaed Meadows in February to testify before a special grand jury, but it's unclear whether he has answered questions under oath after a judge rejected Trump's claims of executive privilege over his testimony.

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1661418642423021572

[Rick Plant]

Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case

Stewart Rhodes, who said after the Capitol attack that the rioters “should have brought rifles," received the longest sentence of any Jan. 6 defendant to date.



WASHINGTON — The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol following his conviction on seditious conspiracy.

The sentence for Stewart Rhodes is the longest imposed on a Jan. 6 defendant to date. In a politically-charged speech in the courtroom just before his sentencing, he called himself a "political prisoner" and said that when he talked about "regime change" in a phone call with supporters earlier this week, he meant he hopes that former President Donald Trump will win in 2024.

The judge disagreed that Rhodes had been locked up for politics, saying it was his actions that led to his criminal convictions.

“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and to the republic and to the very fabric of this democracy," Judge Amit Mehta said before handing down the sentence.

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy in November along with Kelly Meggs, a fellow Oath Keepers member.

"They won't fear us until we come with rifles in hand," Rhodes wrote in a message ahead of the Jan. 6 attack. After the attack, in a recording that was played in court during his trial, he said his only regret was that they “should have brought rifles.”

Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit Thursday, Rhodes said he believes the only crime he committed was opposing those who are “destroying our country.”

Mehta told Rhodes that he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy “not because of your beliefs, not because you supported the other guy, not because Joe Biden is president right now,” but because of the facts of the case, and his actions before, during and after Jan. 6.

“You are not a political prisoner, Mr. Rhodes,” he said.

Meggs was also sentenced by Judge Mehta Thursday, to 12 years in federal prison. Mehta said Meggs did not pose the same continuing threat as Rhodes and a shorter sentence was more appropriate. The 12-year sentence for Meggs is the third longest handed down for a Jan. 6 defendant.

An emotional Meggs delivered a statement and apologized to his family for the pain and suffering he’d caused them. Meggs’ sister, brother and son were in the courtroom — his wife Connie, who also participated in the Jan. 6 riot and has been separately convicted on multiple counts, was not present.

“I want to apologize to those that I’ve disappointed and let down,” Meggs said. “My deepest regret is the pain and suffering I’ve caused my family.”

Rhodes and Meggs were put on trial alongside Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell, fellow Oath Keepers who were convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, but not seditious conspiracy. Watkins and Harrelson will be sentenced Friday.

Rhodes took the stand in his case, saying at the trial that the other members of the Oath Keepers were "stupid" to storm the Capitol and that he disagreed with those who went inside; Rhodes did not enter the building. “I had no idea that any Oath Keeper was even thinking about going inside or would go inside,” he said.

But the government also produced messages in which Rhodes said he thought that Jan. 6 was the last opportunity to stop what he saw as a takeover of the government.

"On the 6th, they are going to put the final nail in the coffin of this Republic, unless we fight our way out. With Trump (preferably) or without him, we have no choice," Rhodes wrote in a message ahead of Jan. 6.

He also celebrated Oath Keepers' actions in the immediate aftermath of the attack, after meeting with other members of the group at an Olive Garden restaurant in Virginia that night.

“Patriots, it was a long day but a day when patriots began to stand," he wrote the night of Jan. 6. "Stand now or kneel forever. Honor your oaths. Remember your legacy."

Prior to Thursday's sentence, Peter Schwartz, who was armed with a wooden tire knocker and engaged in a series of assaults on officers during the Capitol attack, had received the longest time behind bars for a Jan. 6 defendant: just more than 14 years. Schwartz had 38 prior convictions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/oath-keepers-founder-sentenced-18-years-jan-6-seditious-conspiracy-cas-rcna85852



'You are not a political prisoner': Judge delivers brutal smackdown of Stewart Rhodes



Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was hit with an 18-year prison sentence on Thursday -- but not before he received a brutal smackdown from Judge Amit Mehta.

As recounted by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Mehta singled out Rhodes for his singular role in pushing his organization to help take over the United States Capitol building on January 6th, 2021.

He also made sure that Rhodes knew the severity of this offense.

"A seditious conspiracy... is among the most serious crimes an individual American can commit," Mehta informed him. "It's an offense against the government, to use force. It's an offense against the people of the country."

Mehta also took exception to Rhodes' claims of persecution and pointedly told him, "You are not a political prisoner."

"What we cannot have is a group of citizens... who because they didn't like the outcome of the election... are then prepared to take up arms to foment a revolution," he said, according to MacFarlane's transcription. "That's what you did."

Mehta also said that Rhodes and his allies remained a threat to the future of the American republic, as their violent actions had set a precedent for potentially more violence to come during next year's election.
6
"We all now hold our collective breaths with an election approaching," said Mehta. "Will we have another January 6th? That remains to be seen."

Shortly afterward, the judge told Rhodes that "you still present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country."

https://www.rawstory.com/stewart-rhodes-2660616526/



Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs sentenced to 12 years



Kelly Meggs, the Florida leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday for his part in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

The sentencing came just hours after the group's national leader, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, was sent to jail for 18 years. Roger Parloff from Lawfare, Brandi Buchanan from Empty Wheel and Scott MacFarlane from CBS News all live-tweeted as the sentencing hearing unfolded.

At the beginning of the sentencing, District Court Judge Amit Mehta suggested that Meggs had not been coordinating with other Oath Keepers, a fact the assistant US Attorneys disputed.

Messages from Meggs indicated that days before the Jan. 6 attack, he and others assumed President Donald Trump was seeking to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would permit him to stay in office.

“Trump’s staying in, he’s gonna use the emergency broadcast system on cell phones to broadcast to the American people. Then he will claim the insurrection act,” Meggs said in one Facebook message on Dec. 26.

“Any idea when?” a person replied.

“Next week,” Meggs said. “Then wait for the 6th when we are all in dc to insurrection.”

Meggs' lawyer, Stanley Woodward, objected to characterizations from the jury that his client was "co-terminus with the conspiracy."

"We respect that the jury found when Meggs went in that the purpose was criminal, but that doesn't change the fact that there wasn't evidence of that kind of plan."

Meggs said that he had resigned from the Oath Keeprs and had made it clear to Rhodes he didn't want to participate in Jan. 6, but he remained on the calls and contacts.

"This is the moment we signed up for," Meggs said on Jan. 6.

Meggs later wrote: "Easy to chat here, the real question is who is ready to die?" and "Scare the hell out of them..." Another suggested flying Oath Keeper flags over Washington. Another said: "There'll be blood in streets no matter what."

Meggs' lawyers claimed this was overactive hyperbole.

"Truth was, it wasn't," said Mehta.

The judge also said that Meggs was responsible for the destruction of property on the east side of the U.S. Capitol doors. On the level 2 enhancement of his charges, Mehta said that he believes he was directed to go into the Capitol.

"It is because of Mr. Rhodes that Mr. Meggs is, in part, sitting here today," Mehta said. "I'm not suggesting I'm absolving him of responsibility or he didn't act of his own free will. But Rhodes' influence on Meggs and dozens of other people who came to Washington that day."

He went on to say that many of those who ultimately broke the law "require(s) that the court make clear that Stewart Rhodes' conduct warrants greater enhancement than Meggs."

Mehta had earlier set the sentencing guideline at 15.5-20 years.

Before Mehta announced the sentence, Meggs' lawyer implored Mehta for leniency.

Mehta also reiterated what a unique charge and conviction it has been.

He said that in this case, "a substantial sentence is necessary" because of the nature of the circumstance, citing whether Meggs was looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi while he was making his way through the Capitol. Today, he said, Meggs called it unfortunate and hyperbolic — but if that's hyperbole, Mehta said that there's quite a lot of it.

Mehta cited Rhodes' words on the group call, saying, "There's nothing left to do but fight," the idea that Meggs would see that as doing nothing more than security isn't believable. He said he didn't know how anyone could stand in the court and say that it was all just "bombast" when Meggs was telling others on the Oath Keepers Florida chat that he was prepared to die, because thats what patriots do. Again, it doesn't sound like just a "security detail," as Meggs claimed.

He repeated something he said he's also mentioned in the other Jan. 6 cases: "It is astonishing to me how average Americans somehow transformed into criminals in the weeks before Jan. 6."

He closed by saying the sentence will reflect that the United States has a process, an election, "and if your guy or gal loses, you hope for a better result next time. You don't take to the streets or join in for a war in the streets. You don't rush into the U.S. Capitol with the hope of trying to stop the electoral count." He said if that is allowed to happen, and the rule of law is not upheld, the country will descend into chaos. That, he said, is why they're in the courtroom today.

https://www.rawstory.com/oath-keepers-kelly-meggs/

[Rick Plant]

'A great week for us': Stewart Rhodes' ex-wife happy he's behind bars where he 'can't hurt' her family



Oath Keepers militia leader Stewart Rhodes may have been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — but the damage he has done, and could do, is still tremendous, his ex-wife Tasha Adams told CNN's Abby Phillip on Thursday.

Despite this, she said, she is glad he is in a place where he is not a danger to her family anymore.

"You have known Stewart Rhodes for a long time," said Phillip. "You know, deeply, this organization, the Oath Keepers. Knowing that for the next 18 years, you and your six children can live your lives with Stewart Rhodes behind bars, how do you feel about that?"

"I'm very happy about it," said Adams, who has previously detailed Rhodes' physical and emotional abuse against her and their children. "It's been a great week for us as a family. We are happy to feel safe. We are happy he is in a place where he can't hurt us, he can't hurt anybody else. Of course, there's that dark cloud looming of a pardon, depending on who gets in office next or even beyond that, the next election. There's some reason for concern. But other than that, it's been great to feel safe really. It's been — my divorce was finalized this week after five and a half years of trying to deal with that. It's been a lot at once."

"Are you worried at all that if Rhodes were pardoned, there would be risk of another potential January 6?" asked Phillip.

"Absolutely," said Adams. "This is Stewart's life's work. This is what he does. He is incredibly brilliant. Completely manipulative. He is good at what he does. He will just regroup immediately. I guarantee he also has plans in the works for as soon as he is out. He will do this again until he creates the chaos he wants to create."

"Today, Rhodes stood up in court and he called himself a political prisoner," said Phillip. "He equated himself to the former President Trump, members of Congress have use that same term, 'political prisoner,' to describe January 6 defendants. What should they know about your ex-husband before they go and champion the cause of those people? I guess I should say, it's not just lawmakers. I think there are probably millions of people, millions of their supporters who do view January 6 prisoners as political prisoners."

"I would want people to know that Stewart Rhodes in particular, but a lot of these leaders on January 6 have a lot of similar personality traits," said Adams. "Stewart has destroyed the lives of everyone he touched, not just his political enemies. He has destroyed the lives of people on his own side. There are hundreds of people who desperately, desperately wish they had never gone to the Capitol on January 6. They don't know what they were thinking. They don't know why they let themselves get talked into this kind of thing. There is nothing that Stewart Rhodes or anyone like him can bring to anyone except more destruction. That's what they are in it for. That's the goal. That's all he is interested in."

Watch:

'He's a danger to our democracy': former national security official slams Oath Keepers founder



If Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes was pardoned, he'd be out on the streets the next day threatening to take up arms against the government, a national security expert and former DOJ official said Thursday.

The conversation about domestic terrorism stemming from right-wing militias and fringe groups began Thursday as the Heritage Foundation, Fox and Rep. Jim Jordan complained about the Department of Homeland Security looking to them as the base from which some forms of extremism grow. It ended with two high-profile Oath Keepers being sentenced later that day, Elmer Stewart Rhodes (18 years) and Kelly Meggs (12 years).

"Donald Trump has already said that he would pardon those people. Patriots," said Obama's former Under Secretary of State Rick Stengel, speaking on MSNBC. "You have one party that's an apologist for this insurrection and idea that are using rhetoric to excuse it. Ronald Reagan said the government was the problem. It's not the solution. But then Donald Trump lights a fuse to that and engages people to use violence to undermine the government. To go back to our point, the federal government doesn't do everything right. But to have people who want to physically overthrow it and you have one party that supports that, those people are aiding and abetting terrorism. So you have to make a choice."

Stengel later said it shouldn't be difficult for politicians and conservative groups to disavow people like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and other anti-government groups.

Mary McCord, the former acting assistant attorney general for national security starting in 2014, expressed her concern of the GOP's promise to pardon members of such militia groups.

"Not only did he engage in extensive planning from the time of the election up until the actual insurrection and beyond. He was intending to be there as this force that they could call forth to be his own army to prevent the actual transfer of power," said McCord. "Never mind that you can't manufacture an insurrection and then invoke the Insurrection Act. This is something that Stewart Rhodes has been agitating for for years. This wasn't even new to 2020. Back during the first impeachment, he famously tweeted to the former president, if there's an attempt to remove you from office, all you have to do is call us up. We will answer the call. And our weapon of choice is an AR-15. We can go back even further."

She characterized it as an "armed standoff" that Rhodes and his Oath Keepers "engaged in against the federal government several times" before Jan. 6. Each time they disagree with policies, they pick up wapons and stand up to the federal government. On Jan. 6 he attempted to violently overthrow the government.

"This wasn't a one-off thing in 2020. It would have been bad enough to just 17 years, even if it was a one-off," McCord continued. "This is somebody who, deep in his soul, has this insurrectionist view. This view that he can take up arms against the United States and he can bring along his own private army to do so. So as the judge said, he's a danger. He's a danger to our democracy. If we were to let him out on the street, he would be threatening the very next day to take up arms against the country."

Watch:

[Richard Smith]

Another day goes by with no answers for parents or school victimized by a leftist terrorist.  The FBI continues to suppress the motive.  The FBI also continues to suppress information relating to the corruption of Biden, Inc. to the point of punishing whistleblowers.  Are the Dems outraged?  No.  Are they protecting the "hero" whistleblowers as they did when Trump was president?  Of course not.  Hypocrisy abounds.

[Rick Plant]

Another day goes by with no answers for parents or school victimized by a leftist terrorist.  The FBI continues to suppress the motive.  The FBI also continues to suppress information relating to the corruption of Biden, Inc. to the point of punishing whistleblowers.  Are the Dems outraged?  No.  Are they protecting the "hero" whistleblowers as they did when Trump was president?  Of course not.  Hypocrisy abounds.

Another day and another off topic post from you that has nothing to do with the January 6th insurrection. Just more disinformation. But violent Trump insurrectionists are still going to prison and so will Criminal Donald. 

Oath Keepers leader gets 8.5 years in prison for Jan. 6 attack
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-oath-keepers-leader-gets-8-years-for-january-6-20230526-l36syvpjencwrijsmv2opatzae-story.html