The Justice Department charged a half dozen more Capitol rioters tied to the right-wing Oath Keepers group with a conspiracy to obstruct Congress, with the six joining a trio of militia-affiliated leaders who had already been hit with similar criminal charges.
This week, six additional individuals tied to the Oath Keepers were arrested and charged in federal court in the District of Columbia. Thomas Caldwell, Donovan Crowl, and Jessica Watkins had already been charged, and the DOJ said Friday that Graydon Young, Kelly Meggs, Connie Meggs, Laura Steele, Sandra Ruth Parker, and Bennie Alvin Parker had been arrested this week too.
A 21-page superseding indictment unveiled Friday alleged an obstruction “conspiracy” in which Caldwell, Crowl, Watkins, Sandra and Bennie Parker, Young, Steele, and Kelly and Connie Meggs “planned with each other, and with others known and unknown, to forcibly enter the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and to stop, delay, and hinder” Congress’s certification of the 2020 election, in which now-President Joe Biden had defeated former President Donald Trump.
The Justice Department said that Kelly and Connie Meggs, Young, Steele, and Sandra Parker “donned paramilitary gear” and joined with Watkins and Crowl in a “military-style ‘stack’ formation that marched up the center steps on the east side of the U.S. Capitol, breached the door at the top, and then stormed the building.”
All nine defendants were hit with one count of “conspiring to commit an offense against the United States,” as well as one count of “depredation against federal government property” and one count of “unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct.” Bennie Parker and Caldwell were also charged with obstructing the investigation.
DOJ investigators said Kelly Meggs “is the self-described leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers” and that Connie Meggs, Young, and Steele were also alleged members. Kelly Meggs wrote in a late December Facebook message that “Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your s—!!” Around the same time, Young allegedly arranged training for himself and others by a Florida firearms and combat training company.
DOJ: OATH KEEPER MEMBERS WAITED ON TRUMP SIGNAL BEFORE CAPITOL SIEGE
Earlier this month, a filing by Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the nation’s capital, zeroed in on Watkins, an Ohio bartender and leader of the anti-government militia group.
“As the inauguration grew nearer, Watkins indicated that she was awaiting direction from President Trump,” the Justice Department said, adding, “her concern about taking action without his backing was evident.” She sent a Nov. 9 text, saying, “I am concerned this is an elaborate trap. Unless the POTUS himself activates us, it’s not legit. The POTUS has the right to activate units too. If Trump asks me to come, I will.” Prosecutors said Watkins “had perceived her desired signal by the end of December” and pointed to a text where she said, “We plan on going to DC on the 6th … Trump wants all able bodied Patriots to come.”
The Friday indictment claimed that Sandra and Bennie Parker traveled with Watkins and Crowl from Ohio to the nation’s capital and that “in the lead-up to the attack” on the Capitol, Bennie Parker “communicated extensively” with Watkins “about potentially joining her militia and combining forces.”
The Justice Department noted Kelly Meggs made “similar” statements to those made by Watkins and Caldwell that his group would not need to be armed for the Capitol siege because there would be a “heavy QRF 10 Min out.” The DOJ said the abbreviation “QRF” is referred to a “quick reaction force, a term used by law enforcement and the military to refer to an armed unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations.” Shortly before the day of the Capitol riot, Caldwell referenced “a quick reaction force bringing the tools if something goes to hell” in a message to Watkins, who prosecutors said explained the purpose of a “QRF” in November. “If it gets bad, they QRF to us with weapons for us … Be prepared to fight hand to hand … Guys outside DC with guns, await orders to enter DC under permission from Trump, not a minute sooner.”
Investigators also accused Caldwell and Young of tampering with the inquiry “by unsending and deleting Facebook content.”
Watkins, an Army veteran and founding member of the Ohio State Regular Militia, Caldwell, a Virginian and leader within Oath Keepers, and Crowl, another member of the Ohio militia group who previously served as a Marine, had been charged weeks ago.
The Justice Department noted the head of the Oath Keepers issued a Jan. 4 call for action, saying, “It is CRITICAL that all patriots who can be in DC get to DC to stand tall in support of President Trump’s fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup … We Oath Keepers are both honor-bound and eager to be there in strength to do our part.” This national leader is known as “Person One” but is identifiable as founder Stewart Rhodes. The FBI noted Oath Keepers “are a large but loosely organized collection of militia who believe that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights.”
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Dozens who participated in the chaos and violence at the Capitol have been arrested and charged with federal crimes.
U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died on Jan. 7 after responding to the Capitol riot, and a homicide investigation is ongoing. Among the others who died amid the mayhem was Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter who was fatally shot by an officer while trying to climb through a broken window as a crowd tried to break down a barricaded door in the Capitol.
