Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden맥스카지노�s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the far-right extremist group맥스카지노�s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at all costs. Rhodes was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges.Using dozens of encrypted messages, recordings and surveillance video, prosecutors made the case that Rhodes began shortly after the 2020 election to prepare an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power.Over seven weeks of testimony, jurors heard how Rhodes rallied his followers to fight to defend Trump, discussed the prospect of a 맥스카지노�bloody맥스카지노� civil war and warned the Oath Keepers may have to 맥스카지노�rise up in insurrection맥스카지노� to defeat Biden if Trump didn맥스카지노�t act.One of Rhodes' co-defendants 맥스카지노� Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers 맥스카지노� was also convicted of the sedition charge, while three other co-defendants were cleared of the charge. Jurors found all five defendants guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding: Congress' certification of Biden's electoral victory.Rhodes and Meggs are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty of the rarely used Civil War-era charge at trial. The trial was the biggest test yet for the Justice Department in its efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the attack that shook the foundations of American democracy.Seditious conspiracy calls for up to 20 years behind bars.On trial alongside Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, and Meggs, were Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group.Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of twisting their clients' words and insisted the Oath Keepers came to Washington only to provide security for figures such as Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally. The defense focused heavily on seeking to show that Rhodes맥스카지노� rhetoric was just bluster and that the Oath Keepers had no plan before Jan. 6 to attack the Capitol.Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the mob and storm the Capitol and said he was upset after he found out that some did. Rhodes said they were acting 맥스카지노�stupid맥스카지노� and outside their mission for the day.Prosecutors said the Oath Keepers saw an opportunity to advance their plot to stop the transfer of power and sprang into action when the mob started storming the Capitol. The Capitol attack was a 맥스카지노�means to an end맥스카지노� for the Oath Keepers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy told jurors in her closing argument. Jurors heard how Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on an AR-platform rifle, magazines, mounts, sights and other equipment on his way to Washington ahead of the riot. They watched surveillance footage from the Virginia hotel where some Oath Keepers stashed weapons for 맥스카지노�quick reaction force맥스카지노� teams prosecutors said were ready to get weapons into the city quickly if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed.On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing combat gear were seen on camera shouldering their way through the crowd and into the Capitol. Rhodes remained outside like a 맥스카지노�general surveying his troops on the battlefield,맥스카지노� a prosecutor said. After the riot, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers went to an Olive Garden restaurant to celebrate, according to prosecutors.The trial revealed new details about Rhodes맥스카지노� efforts to pressure Trump to fight to stay in the White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. Shortly after the election, in a group chat that included Stone called 맥스카지노�FOS맥스카지노� or 맥스카지노�Friends of Stone,맥스카지노� Rhodes wrote, 맥스카지노�So will you step up and push Trump to FINALLY take decisive action?맥스카지노�Another man testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to persuade him to pass along a message to Trump that urged the president not to give up his fight to hold onto power. The intermediary 맥스카지노� a man who told jurors he had an indirect way to reach the president 맥스카지노� recorded his meeting with Rhodes and went to the FBI instead of giving the message to Trump.맥스카지노�If he맥스카지노�s not going to do the right thing and he맥스카지노�s just gonna let himself be removed illegally then we should have brought rifles,맥스카지노� Rhodes said during that meeting, according to a recording played for jurors. 맥스카지노�We should have fixed it right then and there. I맥스카지노�d hang (expletive) Pelosi from the lamppost,맥스카지노� Rhodes said, referring to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Three other Oath Keepers previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. The last time the Justice Department had secured such a conviction at trial, though, was in the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks.