Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers militia group, will remain in jail ahead of a trial on seditious conspiracy charges related to the January 6 Capitol riot, after a Texas federal judge denied him bail Wednesday, due in part to the concealed escape routes he uses.
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia, spoke at a rally in Washington. The founder of the Oath Keepers, an Army veteran who founded the group in 2009, had been saying for weeks before the Capitol riot that his group was prepared for a civil war.
According to testimony from Rhodes' estranged wife, he kept cars in the woods and built escape tunnels in his backyard.
Adams testified that Rhodes would often brandished firearms in their house as a way to control her and physically abuse the children, and that she fears for her own life and the lives of their six children if Rhodes is released.
The Department of Justice charged Rhodes and 10 other people with seditious conspiracy in relation to the Capitol riot.
The leader of the Oath Keepers was accused by the DOJ of trying to subvert the transfer of power when Congress met to approve Joe Biden's electoral win.
If convicted, Rhodes could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The lawyer told Forbes that he would appeal the bail denial.
According to the New York Times, more than 20 members of the Oath Keepers have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot. The members of the far-right group, which Rhodes founded in 2009, claim they were not in D.C. to storm the Capitol, but were hired as security detail to protect Trump ally Roger Stone. According to the indictment, Rhodes entered a restricted area of the Capitol grounds, but it did not claim he walked into the building. Rhodes denied being in the Capitol building.
According to the Washington Post, the trial of Rhodes will be held on July 11.
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