Justice Department to challenge length of prison sentences for Rhodes and other Oath Keepers

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is appealing the 18-year-prison sentence handed down to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. It is also challenging other far-right extremists’ punishments that were shorter than what prosecutors had sought. While Rhodes received a lengthy sentence for seditious conspiracy and other convictions, the 18-year term was below the recommended range under federal guidelines. It was also less than the 25 years the Justice Department had asked for in one of the most serious cases to go to trial in the Capitol attack. Rhodes’ attorney called the government’s decision to appeal “surprising.”