Takeaways from the dramatic opening statements of the Oath Keepers trial
By Tierney Sneed, Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand, CNNUpdated: Mon, 03 Oct 2022 16:27:44 GMTSource: CNNWith the historic case that they had brought against Oath Keepers accused of plotting to att
By Tierney Sneed, Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand, CNNUpdated: Mon, 03 Oct 2022 16:27:44 GMT
Source: CNN
With the historic case that they had brought against Oath Keepers accused of plotting to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, prosecutors framed up how the jury should be think about the allegations with an hour-plus opening statement that kicked off the trial in earnest.
Five alleged members of the far-right militia, including its leader Stewart Rhodes, are on trial in Washington DC's federal courthouse. They have pleaded not guilty to the charge of seditious conspiracy, a charge rarely brought by the Justice Department, and other charges.
The Justice Department's opening statement featured messages and other communications among the defendants that prosecutors say show the Oath Keepers' unlawful plotting to disrupt Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's electoral win. As the prosecutors sought to use the words of the defendants against them, they also played video capturing the Oath Keepers' actions in the Capitol and displayed maps and charts to help the jury follow along.
"They said out loud and in writing what they planned to do," Jeffrey Nestler, an assistant US Attorney, told the jury. "When the opportunity finally presented itself ... they sprang into action."
Here are takeaways from Monday's trial so far:
DOJ says defendants "concocted a plan for an armed rebellion"
The Justice Department began its opening statement with the accusation that the defendants sought to "stop by any means necessary" the lawful transfer of presidential power, "including taking up arms against the United States government."
Nestler started with a reference to the "core democratic custom of the routine" transfer of power, which Nestler said stretched back to the time of George Washington.
"These defendants tried to change that history. They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy," Nestler said.
The defendants got their opportunity two weeks before the Inauguration, Nestler said.
"If Congress could not meet it could not declare the winner of the election. and that was their goal -- to stop by any means necessary the lawful transfer of power, including taking up arms against the United States government," he said.
He said the defendants descended on DC to attack "not just the Capitol, not just our government, not just DC, but our country itself."
Prosecutors use January 6 video footage
During the Justice Department's opening, the jury was presented with video footage, maps and other audio-visual tools that prosecutors used to give an overview of their case.
Nestler's presentation included iPhone footage from the attack that the prosecutor used to identify the defendants and other alleged co-conspirators. When video showing defendant Kelly Meggs was presented, Nestler noted the patch he wore, which said, according to Nestler: "I don't believe in anything, I'm just here for the violence."
As the video clips played, the jury also saw a map of the Capitol that Nestler used to situate the action that was recorded by video. Nestler also had a physical chart, perched on an easel in the courtroom, listing out the alleged co-conspirators.
Jurors were also presented with the messages that the defendants allegedly sent in the weeks after the election, including their calls for a violent response to former President Donald Trump's loss.
"Its easy to chat here. The real question is who's willing to DIE" Meggs wrote in one message shown by prosecutors.
The DOJ also showed video and photographs of the Oath Keepers participating in tactical training sessions. A map of the Washington Mall -- showing the site of the rally that preceded the Capitol attack and its distance from the Capitol -- was presented while Nestler ticked through communications, including on the walkie talk app Zello, between the defendants that allegedly occurred that day.
Prosecutors preemptively punch holes in Oath Keepers' defense
Nestler used the opening arguments to also preview how the Justice Department will respond to defenses the Oath Keepers' attorneys are expected to put forward.
"There is evidence that you will hear that they had more than one reason to be here in DC, in addition to attacking Congress," the prosecutor said. The defendants may have been planning to attend the rally near the White House earlier in the day, Nestler noted, but so did thousands of others. Nestler also referenced to potential attempts by the defense to argue the Oath Keepers were preparing to come to DC to serve as security, noting that the defendants weren't licensed, trained or paid for their security work.
"Even being bad security guards isn't itself illegal." Nestler said. However, according to the prosecutor, the goal they were actually preparing for was "unlawful."
Additionally, Nestler alluded to the belief that Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act; the defense has signaled it plans to argue that the Oath Keepers were preparing to respond to such an invocation.
"President Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act," Nestler said. "These defendants needed to take matters into their own hands. They needed to activate the plan they had agreed on."
The Justice Department also emphasized the backgrounds of some of the defendants and how that fit into the department's theory of the case. Rhodes, as Nestler repeatedly noted, is a graduate of Yale Law school. He knew to be careful with his words and told his co-conspirators to be careful with theirs, Nestler said.
Thomas Caldwell, another defendant, served in the military, Nestler said. "Based on that water experience, he planned to use boats to get across the Potomac."
Judge stresses that jury is unbiased
Early into Monday's proceedings, Judge Amit Mehta went to great lengths to emphasize that the jury had "no preconceived" prejudices towards the Oath Keepers and the defendants specifically.
He did so while explaining why he was denying a request from the defendants that the case be transferred to Virginia. Mehta ticked through statistics from the jury selection process that shed light on how the jurors had responded to questions meant to test their impartiality.
None of them reported having strong feelings against January 6 that would affect their ability to be fair. While about half of the jurors said they had heard of the Oath Keepers before, none of them reported having strong feelings about Oath Keepers that would threaten the jurors' impartiality, nor had any of the jurors heard of the specific defendants, according to Mehta's account of their answers on the jury questionnaire.
"What that means is voir dire has done its job," Mehta said, referring to the jury selection process.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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