(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes III and several other members of the group—all currently under indictment for “seditious conspiracy” related to the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol—have filed a motion seeking either to transfer their case out of the District of Columbia or to delay their trial, according to the Epoch Times.
According to the filing, the Oath Keepers believe they cannot receive a fair trial in far-left D.C. after the egregious display put on by Nancy Pelosi’s J6 Select Committee on July 12, in which Democrats and their witnesses poisoned the well in advance of the scheduled September trial.
“The Rhodes defendants renew their request for a change of venue in this matter or, in the alternative, to continue the current trial date until 2023 based upon the undeniable prejudice that exists in this District’s jury pool following recent congressional hearings,” the lawyer for the Oath Keepers wrote.
The Oath Keepers pointed out that the Select Committee’s “hearings” are made-for-tv propaganda rather than proper Congressional proceedings, and that the “evidence” provided by its witnesses can only prejudice a real jury.
“These hearings—particularly the most recent one—have caused irreparable harm to the ability of the Rhodes defendants to obtain a fair trial in the District,” the Oath Keepers wrote.
In his opening statement during the J6 Committee “hearing” on July 12, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., twice described the Oath Keepers as “dangerous extremists,” and referred to their membership as “racist and white nationalist.”
“The Oath Keepers are extremists who promote a wide range of conspiracy theories and sought to act as a private paramilitary force for Donald Trump,” Raskin said later in the meeting, as he went on to accuse the group of planning to use “lethal force” on Jan. 6.
The committee went on to solicit testimony from a certain Jason Van Tatenhove, who claimed that the members of the Oath Keepers were “straight up racists” and were preparing to assault the Capitol in “stacked military formation” in order to start “a new civil war.”
In their filing, however, the Oath Keepers pointed out that Tatenhove—though a former member—is now “a staunch leftwing activist tied to causes such as gun control, feminism, and climate change,” and they argued a fair trial is impossible after such “testimony.”
“Clearly inadmissible in the instant trial, Van Tatenhove’s claim that the Oath Keepers intended to start a ‘bloody revolution’ on J6 is now seared into the minds of the District’s jury pool as fact,” the Oath Keepers wrote.
