2 FL Oath Keepers Convicted In Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Attack: Report

FLORIDA — Two Floridians were among four members of the Oath Keepers who were convicted Monday of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol building.

They were part of a pro-President Donald Trump mob that breached the building in protest of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. Their goal was to disrupt a joint session of U.S. Congress that was counting and affirming electoral votes.

The Oath Keepers is a large but loosely organized group of individuals, some of whom have ties to militias. Though the group will accept anyone as members, they explicitly focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement and first-responder personnel, according to a Department of Justice news release. Members and affiliates of the Oath Keepers were among the individuals and groups who forcibly entered the Capitol building.

The verdict against Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, Texas; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix comes weeks after a different jury convicted the group's leader, Stewart Rhodes, in the mob's attack that halted the certification of Biden's electoral victory, the Associated Press reported.

Also Read:

• Sarasota Oath Keeper Charged With Seditious Conspiracy: DOJ
• 4 Oath Keepers Convicted Of Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy
• FL Oath Keepers Leader Guilty Of Seditious Conspiracy In Jan. 6 Attack

They face up to 20 years in prison for the seditious conspiracy charge. A sentencing date has yet to be set.

All four were also convicted of two other conspiracy charges, as well as obstructing an official proceeding. Minuta, Hackett and Moerschel were acquitted of lesser charges, AP said.

Hackett, a Sarasota chiropractor, was among a group of Oath Keepers wearing paramilitary gear that marched in a “stack” formation up the east steps of the Capitol and breached the building, the DOJ said.

He was released from jail in August after his public defender, Angie Halim, told a federal judge that he was no longer “radicalized,” according to the Washington Post. She said his wife would prevent him from re-adopting extremist views.

Halim also told the judge that Hackett had never been interested in politics before 2020 and had never voted in a presidential election before. It was after joining the Oath Keepers that he became “susceptible to right-wing propaganda,” she said, blaming political leaders for spreading misinformation.

In November, Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, and the leader of the organization’s Florida chapter, Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the attack on the Capitol.

Following the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers began planning to oppose the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Biden by force on Jan. 20, 2021, the DOJ said.

In December 2020, they started discussing traveling to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 for the certification of the electoral college vote, using encrypted and private communication apps.

They traveled across the country to the area in early January, bringing weapons and tactical gear to Washington, D.C., and organizing paramilitary training, according to the DOJ.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.