Oath Keepers leader spoke to Jan. 6 panel from detention center

Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers, spoke to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol for roughly 6 1/2 hours on Wednesday, answering some questions from the panel and pleading the Fifth to others.

Rhodes’s attorney Jonathan Moseley confirmed to The Hill that his client spoke to the investigative panel remotely from a federal detention facility in Oklahoma, where he is currently being held after being charged with seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Rhodes must be transferred to a Washington, D.C., jail while awaiting trial.

Moseley said Rhodes’s criminal defense attorney insisted that he plead the Fifth on questions pertaining to events that occurred from Nov. 3, 2020, through Wednesday because they are covered in his federal indictment.

He did, however, answer general and historical questions about the Oath Keepers, according to Moseley.

The attorney said the meeting “frontloaded” topics that Rhodes could talk about, then moved into questions that he couldn’t. 

The deposition, however, remains open, according to Moseley, which gives the select committee the ability to call Rhodes back for questioning if they want to dispute something he refused to discuss.

Rhodes was arrested and charged on Jan. 13, marking the first seditious conspiracy charges brought in connection to the deadly riot. Ten other members of the far-right group were also charged.

If convicted, Rhodes could face up to 20 years in prison.

Justice Department prosecutors are alleging that Rhodes encouraged members of the Oath Keepers to use violence as part of an effort to prevent President Biden from taking office after he won the 2020 presidential election.

Moseley also told The Hill that Rhodes testified about not being able to collect dues because of functionality issues with the group’s systems, which he said also means his client does not know how many members are currently part of the group. 

The Hill reached out to the Jan. 6 committee for more information.