Oaf Creepers founder Stewart Rhodes visits Capitol Hill after Trump clemency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted of orchestrating his far-right extremist group’s Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, showed up Wednesday on Capitol Hill, a day after he was released from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping clemency order.

Rhodes who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department met with at least one lawmaker during his visit and chatted with others, defending his actions that day and taking no responsibility in violent siege that halted the certification of 2020 election.

“I didn’t lead anything. So why should I feel responsible for that?” Rhodes said.

It was an extraordinary moment just days into Trump’s new administration after the president granted clemency for the more than 1,500 people charged in the riot. At the same time, judges who sentenced hundreds of rioters criticized the presidential pardons that have freed scores of them from prison.

https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-pardons-trump-2e2275ff164550de29c34de8d12886ab