WASHINGTON – The Justice Department appealed the sentences of several members of the right-wing militia group Oath Keepers and its founder, Stewart Rhodes, for their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on Wednesday, according to court filings.
Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison and three years of supervised release in May after being convicted of seditious conspiracy by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who said that Rhodes was “prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution.”
His sentence was the longest that has been handed down in more than 1,000 Capitol cases, according to the Associated Press.
Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter
The Justice Department, however, sought a 25-year sentence for Rhodes alleging that his actions “created a grave risk to our democratic system of government.”
Other Oath Keepers’ sentences also fell short of the guidelines suggested for their conduct, according to Politico. For instance, Oath Keepers member Jessica Watkins of Ohio, who was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of conspiring to obstruct Congress, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison while the Justice Department sought 18 years.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will oversee the appeal, Politico reported.
Contributing: Associated Press
