'You are not a political prisoner': Judge delivers brutal smackdown of Stewart Rhodes
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was hit with an 18-year prison sentence on Thursday -- but not before he received a brutal smackdown from Judge Amit Mehta.
As recounted by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Mehta singled out Rhodes for his singular role in pushing his organization to help take over the United States Capitol building on January 6th, 2021.
He also made sure that Rhodes knew the severity of this offense.
"A seditious conspiracy... is among the most serious crimes an individual American can commit," Mehta informed him. "It's an offense against the government, to use force. It's an offense against the people of the country."
Mehta also took exception to Rhodes' claims of persecution and pointedly told him, "You are not a political prisoner."
"What we cannot have is a group of citizens... who because they didn't like the outcome of the election... are then prepared to take up arms to foment a revolution," he said, according to MacFarlane's transcription. "That's what you did."
Mehta also said that Rhodes and his allies remained a threat to the future of the American republic, as their violent actions had set a precedent for potentially more violence to come during next year's election.
"We all now hold our collective breaths with an election approaching," said Mehta. "Will we have another January 6th? That remains to be seen."
Shortly afterward, the judge told Rhodes that "you still present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country."
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