Paragraph: Stewart Rhodes, the leader of a far-right militia, has been found guilty of plotting to stop US President Joe Biden from taking office after the 2020 election. A jury found Rhodes guilty of the rare charge of seditious conspiracy following a two-month trial.
Paragraph: Rhodes plotted an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Mr Biden, prosecutors said. He now faces a maximum 20 year sentence on the charges. The Civil War-era charge was first enacted to stop residents of southern states from fighting against the US government.
Paragraph: In order to be convicted of seditious conspiracy, prosecutors must prove that two or more people conspired to “overthrow, put down or to destroy by force” the US government, or that they planned to use force to oppose US authority. Officials argued that Rhodes stashed dozens of weapons in a hotel room in Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington DC, and planned to bring them into the city in the event of mass civil disorder.
