Oath Keepers attorney found incompetent to stand trial: report

Kellye SoRelle, an attorney who represented the far-right Oath Keepers militia, has been found incompetent to stand trial for the charges against her, reported CBS News' Scott MacFarlane on Thursday.

"In court proceeding just now, Judge Amit Mehta reveals a competency issue has been raised in criminal case of one-time Oath Keepers attorney and current Jan 6 defendant Kellye Sorelle," said MacFarlane on Twitter. "'Restoration' process being discussed now. She’s not in pretrial custody. Could delay case."

Mehta, MacFarlane continued, "says there’s been a conclusion reached that Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye Sorelle is 'incompetent' in case, but judge says no full report is available yet, nor is there 'recommendation for restoration' yet. Sorelle has co-defendants in Jan 6 case. Case could proceed without her."

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The Oath Keepers are a far-right militia founded at the beginning of President Barack Obama's first term of office, consisting mainly of current or retired military and law enforcement who seek to uphold an extreme interpretation of the Constitution. They gained national attention in 2014 when they joined an armed standoff with federal agents over the Bundy Ranch dispute in Nevada, and some of its members extensively planned attacks on the Capitol for January 6, including military "stack" formations to breach secured areas in the complex.

SoRelle was charged last year with conspiracy and obstruction. Prosecutors allege that she tried to “corruptly persuade other persons” to withhold evidence from a federal grand jury investigating January 6.

During the trial of Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers leader who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, prosecutors revealed sexually explicit text messages between SoRelle and Rhodes, as the basis for showing their communications were not universally shielded by attorney-client privilege.