EXTREMISMWhat Is Seditious Conspiracy?

By Masood Farivar

Published 1 December 2022

The conviction on Tuesday of militia leader Stewart Rhodes in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol marks the first time in more than two decades that the Justice Department has successfully used a criminal charge known as “seditious conspiracy.”

The conviction on Tuesday of militia leader Stewart Rhodes in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol marks the first time in more than two decades that the Justice Department has successfully used a criminal charge known as “seditious conspiracy.”

Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia made up largely of military veterans and former law enforcement officers, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy along with Kelly Meggs, the head of the group’s Florida chapter.

Three other Oath Keepers tried alongside Rhodes were acquitted of the sedition charge but were found guilty of other changes, including obstruction of an official proceeding.

All five face at least 20 years in prison.

Here is what you need to know about seditious conspiracy and the significance of the verdict in the Oath Keepers trial:

What Is Seditious Conspiracy?
Enacted after the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the charge of seditious conspiracy includes two elements: conspiracy and sedition. Conspiracy is an agreement by two or more people to commit a crime. Sedition is defined as incitement or advocacy of insurrection against an established authority.

The federal law under which the Oath Keepers were charged defines seditious conspiracy as two or more people plotting “to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States …”

In the Oath Keepers case, the charge was not that they conspired to overthrow the U.S. government but rather that they plotted to forcibly oppose the authority of the government and prevent the execution of the laws governing the presidential transfer of power.