All combined were crimes prosecutors said at the time carried as much as a 20-year prison sentence. Prosecutors, however, wanted more.
In court papers Friday, the U.S. government said Rhodes"exploited his vast public influence" as leader of the militia group to persuade others to join in the attack, qualifying him for far more prison time than the sentences others tied to the conspiracy had received. To date, thelevied in the scheme was 14 years, while most sentences to date have been under five years. Rhodes, they said, deserved more than that.
" used his talents for manipulation to goad more than twenty other American citizens into using force, intimidation, and violence to seek to impose their preferred result on a U.S. presidential election," the filing reads."This conduct created a grave risk to our democratic system of government and must be met with swift and severe punishment.
In their telling, the Oath Keepers had an exemplary history of community involvement during times of natural disasters and civil unrest Rhodes' attorneys said should be contemplated as part of the judge's decision, and disproved allegations by prosecutors and the press the far-right, anti-government militia group had inherently extremist aims.
In one instance, the Oath Keepers provided security for a local fire department in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and delivered wellness checks for stranded citizens, Rhodes' attorneys said in the filing. During the riots that resulted from the killing of