Judge dismisses case against Oath Keepers members

A federal judge has dismissed the seditious conspiracy case against members of the far-right Oath Keepers group at the request of the Justice Department. A jury convicted leaders of the group in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building in 2021.

A federal judge had sentenced Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes to spend 18 years in prison, calling him “an ongoing threat and peril to this country,” but the Trump Justice Department backed away from the case against Rhodes and other members of the group, so Judge Amit Mehta reluctantly agreed to dismiss it.

In a new court filing, the judge says the move diminishes the gravity of Jan. 6 and “denigrates” the work of prosecutors and police who tried to secure the convictions. A lawyer for Rhodes says charges should never have been brought.

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Read the full story at https://www.npr.org/2026/08/05/g-s1-137440/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-oath-keepers

Host: Libby Casey/NPR
Reporter: Carrie Johnson/NPR
Producer: Michael Zamora/NPR

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