Republished with permission from Lucian K. Truscott IV

Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer for the right-wing violent militia The Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington D.C. to two charges related to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. She faces 20 years in prison on the charge of obstruction of justice for sending text messages to Oath Keepers telling them to delete from their cell phones and other electronic devices any evidence showing that they had participated in the assault on the Capitol. She also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining on restricted government property and grounds.

SoRelle is a close associate of Oath Keepers founder and president Stewart Rhodes, who is currently serving an 18-year sentence in federal prison for plotting to disrupt the counting and certification of electoral ballots on Jan. 6. She attended the now-infamous parking garage meeting between leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys the night before the assault on the Capitol. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was also at the garage meeting attended by SoRelle. Tarrio is currently serving 22 years in federal prison for his role in the militia’s attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6. SoRelle was arrested in 2022 and for a year contended that she was mentally incompetent to stand trial. After being held in a prison mental facility run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, she was declared competent in 2023.

Also, yesterday in federal court in Washington D.C., Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered that John Banuelos, who was arrested in March for firing his handgun from atop a scaffold in front of the Capitol on Jan. 6, should continue to be held in custody as a risk to the health and safety of others and a flight risk. She ordered a trial date for Banuelos next February.

On August 9, Judge Royce Lamberth handed down a 20-year sentence to David Dempsey, who was charged with violently assaulting police officers with metal rods and a crutch, as well as kicking officers and repeatedly throwing objects at them. Before being sentenced, Dempsey made a public apology to some of the officers he attacked on Jan. 6 who were present in the court room. He expressed his “profound regret” for his actions to the judge, trying for a more lenient sentence. After the judge told Dempsey he was “political violence personified” and sentenced him to 20 years, Dempsey flashed a hand-sign in the air indicating his support for white supremacy.

On July 19, Judge Beryl Howell sentenced Tyler Dykes to 57 months in federal prison for his role in the insurrection on Jan. 6. Dykes was charged with ripping a shield from the hands of a police officer and using it to breach the police line that was guarding the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol. The crowd was successful, and the Senate Chamber was entered by insurrectionists, who trashed the place and stole papers and other items from senators’ desks.

Dykes was photographed at the top of the Capitol steps making the Nazi salute with his upraised right arm. “We fought a world war to beat back the Nazis,” Judge Howell said as she handed down her sentence. “The defendant thinks there’s something attractive about Nazi ideology.”

Dykes attended the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2018 and was charged for burning an object in an attempt to intimidate others. He was among those who marched carrying torches shouting “Jews will not replace us.” Before being sentenced, Dykes pleaded for mercy from the judge, telling her that he had forsaken his extremist views and “will never do anything like Jan. 6 again.”

As he was being led away by court bailiffs, Dykes shouted to the crowd in the courtroom that included several officers who had been attacked on Jan. 6, “I stand with President Trump and support him to be the next president of our country.”

More than 1,250 people have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. So far, more than 460 of them have been sentenced to prison terms, according to figures from the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump, who at a rally in North Carolina today called Vice President Harris a “communist and a Marxist,” has referred to those arrested for participating in the insurrection on Jan. 6 as “patriots.” Trump has accused the Biden administration of “weaponizing” the Department of Justice against him and his followers and said that he will pardon those charged for offenses on Jan. 6, including, in one interview, those charged with attacking police officers such as Dempsey and Dykes.

Back here on planet earth, the third day of the Democratic Convention continues tonight with speeches by former President Bill Clinton, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz, who will deliver the keynote address.