By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Four associates of the far-right Oath Keepers group were found guilty on Monday for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the Washington jury remained deadlocked on some serious charges for two other defendants who did not enter the building during the chaos.
Oath Keeper associates Sandra Ruth Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding - a charge that can carry up to 20 years in prison, as well as several other felony and misdemeanor charges.
Michael Greene and Bennie Parker, the two who did not enter the Capitol building, were acquitted on the most serious felonies charges, though the jury remained deadlocked on one outstanding felony count for each man.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta instructed the jury to go back and continue to deliberate on the two remaining counts.
Greene and Bennie Parker were found guilty, however, on lesser misdemeanor charges of entering a restricted building or grounds.
The verdict marks the end of the third major trial against members of the extremist group, who were among the thousands of Donald Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's November 2020 election win.
Then-president Trump, a Republican, fired up the crowd on Jan. 6 with false claims that his defeat was the result of widespread fraud. He has continued to repeat those false claims, which have been rejected by multiple courts and members of his own administration, as he seeks the Republican nomination to run in 2024.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Costas Pitas and Grant McCool)
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