The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members says it would be “frightening” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta criticized the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon during a sentencing hearing on Wednesday for a former Oath Keepers member who cooperated with prosecutors. President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly has vowed to pardon rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for his seditious conspiracy conviction.
