Oath Keepers Leader Warns Trump About Trial

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers who was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy charges in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, is warning former President Donald Trump that he will face a similar legal fate.

Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate who was sentenced in May, led the right-wing organization for 12 years until he was prosecuted and found guilty by a jury in November alongside Florida Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs.

Trump has been indicted twice since Rhodes was found guilty. The first indictment, handed down by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, is related to alleged hush money payments made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Secondly, Trump faces 37 counts for the alleged mishandling of classified documents discovered at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

The documents case is being overseen by a Trump appointee, Judge Aileen Cannon. The Department of Justice (DOJ) requested a delay for Cannon's initial August trial date, pushing it back to December 11 in order for Trump's lawyers to obtain security clearance.

"They're going to do the same thing to President Trump that they did to me," Rhodes told The Washington Times from the D.C. Department of Corrections Central Detention Facility, where he is kept in isolation.

He had a message directed at Trump: "You're going to get railroaded. You're going to be found guilty if you try to go to trial. So, everyone's been demoralized and more likely to take a plea deal and agree to 'test-a-lie' against President Trump."

The Rhodes sentence was the longest handed down in relation to January 6. Federal authorities initially sought a sentence of at least 20 years for conspiring to "overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of the United States or to levy war against them," as defined by United States Code.

Not only was he on trial for attempting to disrupt the 2020 presidential vote count—which would have benefited Trump, who lost to current President Joe Biden—but also for communications indicating that he wanted to bring firearms and ammunition into Washington, per the DOJ in its indictment.

Rhodes also told The Washington Times that Trump would face a left-leaning judge and jury in the District of Columbia, similar to other convicted January 6 defendants.

Trump also faces potential indictments in two other cases, including whether he encouraged individuals like Rhodes and Oath Keepers members to galvanize in Washington. Also, the former president and current Republican front-runner for the 2024 nomination could also be prosecuted in Georgia for allegedly telling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find extra votes needed to defeat Biden in the state, potentially changing the entire 2020 electoral outcome.

Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.