“The back door of the Capitol,” Rhodes wrote. He then called Florida Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs, who immediately began leading a group to the doors on the east side of the Capitol. The third week of the government’s case in the tumultuous conspiracy trial of Rhodes, Meggs and three other associates culminated in a minute-by-minute account of the Oath Keepers’ actions on Jan. 6 that prosecutors said showed how the group’s leaders planned “insurrection previously greenlighted violence while on Capitol Hill and appeared to be coordinating their actions with other figures pushing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Whitney Drew, a former FBI counterterrorism special agent with experience in Army intelligence, testified as prosecutors developed audio, video and computer animations to give jurors a riveting ride through the defendants’ actions that day. Prosecutors subpoenaed material from Kellye SoRelle, described in court as an attorney for the Oath Keepers and a friend of Rhodes. SoRelle, who was recently charged with obstructing the vote count, began a four-minute live stream on Facebook on the east side of the Capitol at 2:12 p.m., just as a crowd began to file up the steps. The Proud Boys simultaneously invaded the building on the west side, according to court records, and some moved to the east side. “This is what happens when people get mad and when they riot,” SoRelle told followers in a video played for jurors. “This is how you take back your government. You literally get it back.” One minute after SoRelle’s video ends, a group of Oath Keepers led by Meggs arrived near where SoRelle was standing, Drew testified. Rhodes was also coming close, after he told a coded Oath Keepers leadership conversation that Trump supporters, not leftist rioters, were responsible for the action. He likened the crowd of “outraged patriots” to the “Sons of Liberty,” American colonists who staged the Boston Tea Party. Videos released show Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio meeting with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes the day before the Capitol attack. (Video: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia) SoRelle had earlier pushed back from an Oath Keepers member who expressed concern about the mob breaking down barriers, saying she had a message from Rhodes: “We’re acting like founders, we can’t back down.” At 2:28 p.m., Rhodes wrote, “Capitol’s back door,” and sent it to an encrypted group chat that included Tario, Trump confidant Roger Stone, Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander and right-wing talk show host Alex Jones. according to prosecutors. Drew did not elaborate on that connection, but prosecutors have repeatedly pointed to Rhodes’ messages to the “Friends of Stone” chat group, which was also of interest to the House committee investigating Jan. 6. By the time Rhodes sent that message, the Proud Boys had already made their way from the west front of the Capitol to the east, both inside and outside the building, according to court records. Minutes later, Rhodes texted a group of Jurors that people were “banging on doors,” according to texts presented in court. He then called Meggs and Michael Green, charged separately and described in court as the Oath Keepers’ chief operating officer on January 6. The three spoke via video conference for just over a minute. The content of the call at 2:32 p.m. was not available to investigators, but Drew testified that at that point during the conversation Meggs began leading the team of Oath Keepers in single-file “stack” formation up the stairs. The doors were forced open from the inside five minutes later, and the first member of the Oath Keepers walked in with a huge crowd. Inside the building, defendant Jessica Watkins of Ohio recounted their progress on a walkie-talkie-style phone app. “We’re on the mezzanine. We are in the main dome right now. We’re rocking it,” she said, as others with her said they had taken over, according to messages played in court. “We had a storm on Capitol Hill,” Green wrote to an unknown at 3:06 p.m. Drew also showed jurors new messages from before Jan. 6 involving Rhodes, Sorrell and other Jurors in which Rhodes specifically called for violence to stop Joe Biden since taking office. Rhodes argued that these plans were only in preparation for the possibility that President Trump would replace his group as a legal militia under the Sedition Act. But in a Dec. 10 text message, Rhodes said that if Trump doesn’t act, “we’re going to have to rise up in (rebellion).” Green and SoRelle have pleaded not guilty. Alexander, Jones and Stone have not been charged with any crime. Rhodes’ defense attorney, James Lee Bright, argued that the defendants’ words were merely “rhetorical and bombast” and that the government’s allegations of criminal intent undermined by indications that the Oath Keepers were blundering around the Capitol, confused and unable to connect by phone or in person. Some text messages were not received until hours later due to poor mobile reception. Rhodes at one point inaccurately described himself as being on the south side of the Capitol. an Oath Keeper lost track of his car. “All these people from out of town had no idea where they were,” Bright said. “It’s hard to direct your troops when you don’t know where they are.” Inside the Capitol, video played in court showed the group of Oath Keepers on trial did not destroy property or attack officers, although jurors saw them pushing against the security guard guarding the Senate chamber. While Quick Response Force teams waited outside DC with firearms, Bright stressed they were “never called” by Rhodes and noted during the standoff that the Oath Keepers were not accused of violating any firearms laws . “So the armed rebellion was unarmed?” Bright asked FBI Special Agent Sylvia Hilgeman. Hilgemann replied: “The armed rebellion was not over.”
