The Oath Keepers allegedly stockpiled guns, ammunition, a drone, and other supplies in the buildup to the riot on Capitol Hill.
The claims were made by prosecutors who filed a request Tuesday for pretrial detention of Ed Vallejo, a 63-year-old who was federally indicted alongside 10 other members of the Oath Keepers on Thursday on charges of seditious conspiracy related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
OATH KEEPERS LEADER STEWARD RHODES CHARGED WITH ‘SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY’ RELATED TO CAPITOL RIOT
“The defendants’ criminal plan focused on delaying or stopping Congress’s Certification of the Electoral College vote,” prosecutors said. “Two military-style stacks of co-conspirators, along with other rioters, forcibly breached the Capitol with Vallejo and others staged as armed QRF teams across the Potomac River, awaiting deployment — a deployment which proved unnecessary because the co-conspirators were able to breach the Capitol with the forces they had on the Capitol grounds.”
Members of the right-wing group stashed the supplies at a hotel in nearby Arlington, Virginia, intended to support a team referred to as the “quick reaction force,” or “QRF,” in the event that its two teams deployed at the Capitol needed backup, according to court documents. The group had a total of three teams organized for the riot.
Hotel surveillance showed Vallejo and one of his co-conspirators allegedly bringing the weapons into the hotel on Jan. 5. There were allegedly at least three three luggage carts of weapons. Prosecutors said the Oath Keeper members had enough essential supplies to last 30 days. The two teams that deployed to the Capitol on Jan. 6 were ultimately forced out of the building when law enforcement began clearing the premises and regaining control of the Capitol, according to court documents.
The Justice Department describes the Oath Keepers as a loosely organized group that recruits former military and law enforcement personnel. If indicted on seditious conspiracy charges, the 11 members could face up to 20 years in prison. Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, has entered a not guilty plea. An attorney for Vallejo said last week that his client would do the same.
In addition to stockpiling weapons for a longer fight on Jan. 6, prosecutors allege that members of the Oath Keepers continued planning to “stop the presidential power transfer” after the riot. The documents did not say if they followed through on those plans.
In the early hours of Jan. 7, Vallejo allegedly sent a message to one of his co-conspirators saying that they were going to probe the “defense line” of the Capitol. On President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day, one of the Oath Keepers messaged an unnamed individual, “After this…if nothing happens…its war…Civil War 2.0.”
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Vallejo was a part of the backup team, so he was never deployed to the Capitol during the riot. He allegedly attempted to launch a drone for “recon use” during the riot but was unsuccessful. Prosecutors argued in the court documents that he is still dangerous. He is set to appear in federal court in Phoenix on Thursday for his detention hearing.
“Vallejo traveled across the country and staged himself near the congressional proceedings ready to transport firearms and equipment into the nation’s capital,” prosecutors said. “That is what makes him a danger. And there is no evidence that he has renounced violence or that he no longer believes in the necessity of guerilla warfare after January 6.”
