Former Oath Keepers lawyer pleads guilty to obstruction related to US Capitol riot
Source: CNN Politics
Published 3:00 PM EDT, Wed August 21, 2024
CNN — An attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers pleaded guilty Wednesday to instructing members of the far-right group to delete their text messages after the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot on behalf of its leader Stewart Rhodes. Kellye SoRelle, an attorney who volunteered for Lawyers for Trump during efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, was first charged in 2022.
The judge overseeing her case, however, temporarily ruled that she was incompetent to stand trial and sent SoRelle to a federal custody for mental health treatment. Wednesday, she pleaded guilty to charges including tampering with evidence, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. SoRelle will be sentenced in January.
SoRelle had close ties to pro-Trump and “Stop the Steal” groups in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents and her own public statements. She is also the former girlfriend of Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, and has claimed to be the general counsel for the militia.
Rhodes was charged in one of the highest-profile prosecutions to arise out of the January 6 Capitol riot. He and several of his followers were convicted of seditious conspiracy for concocting a far-reaching plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost his reelection bid. Rhodes was sentenced last year to serve 18 years in prison.
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/21/politics/former-oath-keepers-lawyer-guilty-capitol-riot/index.html
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