In the last week, more sentences have been handed down to members of the Oath Keepers for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Two Army veterans who stormed the Capitol with fellow members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced Friday to prison terms. Their sentences came one day after the far-right extremist group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, received a record-setting 18-years behind bars and Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Jon Lewis is a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University. He studies domestic violent extremism and homegrown violent extremism, with a specialization in the evolution of white supremacist and anti-government movements in the United States and federal responses to the threat. Lewis is the co-author of two major Program reports on the events of January 6th, as well as numerous long form publications on the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and their role in the events of January 6th. In addition, Lewis has managed the Program's Capitol Hill Siege database, which is a public tracker for all federal cases stemming from J6 participation.
“The sentencing of Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs underscores the severity of the threat posed by the Oath Keepers on January 6th. The conviction on seditious conspiracy charges and significant sentences which included terrorism enhancements is a significant blow to Oath Keepers as a functional organization,” Lewis says. “However, Oath Keepers are merely the tip of the anti-government extremist iceberg, as this diverse and decentralized milieu continues to galvanize and radicalize Americans towards political violence.”
If you would like to speak to Jon Lewis, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
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