Oath Keepers’ Bid to Dismiss Conspiracy Charges Denied by Judge

Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes and other members of the right-wing group lost their request for dismissal of criminal charges that they conspired to violently stop the certification of Joe Biden as president.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said in an order Tuesday that the indictment against nine of the members “sufficiently” states the offenses. The judge also rejected the members’ request to move their trial out of Washington to Alexandria, Virginia, because of concern about jury bias.

Stewart Rhodes on a screen during a House Select Committee hearing to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol on June 9.

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

“This is not an ‘extreme case’ in which juror prejudice can be presumed and mandatory transfer is warranted,” Mehta wrote. ...