Oath Keeper rips 'deranged' leader Stewart Rhodes at seditious conspiracy sentencing

During his sentencing Thursday, a member of the Oath Keepers reportedly had some choice words for the leader of the group.

Oath Keeper Roberto Minuta, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.

But he went down swinging. According to The Daily Beast, at the sentencing hearing, Minuta went out of his way to bash Stewart Rhodes, the group's leader, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy.

"Minuta said that Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, was part of the group’s 'deranged leadership' who turned them 'into a political ‘rah-rah Trump’ disaster' and manipulated members into committing crimes that day," reported Erik Uebelacker. "'I was misled and naïve,' Minuta told the court. Just last week, Rhodes was handed an 18-year sentence — the longest thus far of the 1,000 cases from the Capitol riot — for his role in plotting the attack."

According to court reporter Brandi Buchman, federal Judge Amit Mehta appeared unpersuaded by this defense, saying, "I don't think your theory that you lost your way is entirely accurate."

Minuta also said that he had been in a state of anger over his business being threatened and vandalized by anarchists, saying he was "sorry" this happened to him, but it doesn't excuse his violent actions.

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The Oath Keepers are a far-right paramilitary consisting mainly of current or former police and law enforcement. The group, founded at the beginning of the President Barack Obama's administration, exploded into public consciousness after its members got involved in an armed standoff with government agents at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada.

This comes as the Proud Boys, another far-right group involved in the U.S. Capitol attack, also sees many of its higher-ups face seditious conspiracy convictions.