Federal judge denies Oath Keepers’ plea to delay seditious conspiracy trial

Nine members of the Oath Keepers militia group are set to go on trial in D.C. next month after a federal judge this Tuesday denied a request by nearly all defendants to delay the trial until next year, POLITICO reports.

The trial will be the first on seditious conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Lawyers say the hearings put on by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and problems obtaining evidence justified delaying the start of the trial, but U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said that a delay would affect the court’s trial calendar and that “trying to schedule the trial to avoid any potential conflict with the House committee would be unwise and likely ineffective,” according to POLITICO.

“I can’t move this trial and I’m not going to move this trial,” Mehta said during a hearing on Tuesday. “It would quite literally wreak havoc for this court’s docket.”

“We are not going to avoid that publicity by moving this trial for a few months,” said Mehta. “I don’t know what they’re going to do and when they’re going to do it. This is a court of law. We cannot wait on the legislative process to move forward.”

Nine defendants are expected to go on trial next month, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. Three Oath Keepers members have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Read the full report at POLITICO

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.