Stewart Rhodes found guilty of forging a plot with the aim of preventing the democratic change of power after the election of Republican President Donald Trump in 2020 by force. The offence of "seditious conspiracy" is particularly serious.
It has rarely been used in the history of justice in the United States. Rhodes has denied planning an attack on the Capitol. He and his militia only wanted to provide security at a Trump rally in Washington on the day in question. The public prosecutor's office had demanded an even higher penalty.