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Stewart Rhodes of Oath Keepers visits US Capitol after Donald Trump's 2021 riots pardon

Jan 23, 2025 06:51 AM IST

Stewart Rhodes had been serving an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack

A day after being released from prison after Donald Trump's Presidential pardon to January 6 riot attackers, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers, visited the US Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a supporter of President Donald Trump and convicted on charges relating to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol talks to reporters outside the DC Central Detention Facility, after being released from a Maryland jail, in Washington, (AP)
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a supporter of President Donald Trump and convicted on charges relating to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol talks to reporters outside the DC Central Detention Facility, after being released from a Maryland jail, in Washington, (AP)

News agency Associated Press reported that Stewart Rhodes, who had been serving an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, was granted clemency by the President, alongside over 1,500 other attackers.

Rhodes's release has drawn sharp attention as he was convicted in one of the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department over the Capitol riot that left more than 100 police officers injured.

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Meanwhile, Rhodes's visit, which comes amidst heightened tensions over the January 6 events, has raised concerns about the future influence of far-right groups and the political ramifications of one of Trump's most controversial pardons.

For the unversed, just hours after taking office on Monday, President Donald Trump granted pardons to more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed the Capitol in a bid to halt congressional certification of Joe Biden's election victory.

The President also commuted the sentences of 14 members of the far-right Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia.

Federal judges condemn Trump's pardon to Jan 6 rioters

Three federal judges on Wednesday strongly condemned President Donald Trump's sweeping pardons of supporters who stormed the US Capitol four years ago in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

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"No pardon can change the tragic truth of what happened on January 6, 2021," District Judge Tanya Chutkan said in an order dismissing the charges against a Capitol riot defendant.

Cops hurt in January 6 attacks are 'angry'

Two police officers who faced rioters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, said they were angry and exhausted but would continue to speak out after President Trump pardoned their attackers.

Metropolitan police officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed between doors as rioters grabbed his gas mask and tried to gouge his eyes, said he had been working 12-hour shifts since last week to protect Trump and his supporters during the inauguration.

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Former Capitol police officer Harry Dunn said, "I'm not going away. They want you to stop talking, but we can't."

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