Judge: Pardoning Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for Capitol riot plot would be 'frightening'

The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members says it would be “frightening” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta criticized the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon during a sentencing hearing on Wednesday for a former Oath Keepers member who cooperated with prosecutors. President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly has vowed to pardon rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for his seditious conspiracy conviction.