DUNNELLON, Fla. (WFLA) — Kelly Meggs, retired Green Beret Jeremy Brown and many other Oath Keepers claimed they went to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to provide security for speakers at the “Stop the Steal” rally.
A jury did not believe Meggs, but that has not dulled Brown’s desire to face a federal jury in his trespassing case connected to the riot that injured about 140 people. Five deaths are connected to the violence, according to investigators.
Kelly and his wife Connie Meggs were photographed in the Capitol rotunda during the height of the attack.
Kelly Meggs, identified as the leader of Florida’s Oath Keepers, was convicted Tuesday of multiple federal charges after a seven-week trial involving five Jan. 6 defendants.
Meggs and national Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes were found guilty of the most serious crime alleged in the case — seditious conspiracy which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Meggs and Rhodes were tried along with Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watson and Kenneth Harrelson who is from Titusville, Florida.
Caldwell, Watson and Harrelson were acquitted of seditious conspiracy. All five defendants were convicted of aiding and abetting and obstruction of an official proceeding.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the government is committed to holding the assailants accountable.
“As the verdict of this case makes clear, the Department will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for the attack on our Democracy,” Garland said.
Meggs’ wife, who is charged with several counts including aiding and abetting in the obstruction of an official proceeding and entering restricted grounds, is scheduled to stand trial early next year.
Brown claims a month before the Capitol attack, FBI agents asked him to infiltrate the Oath Keepers and provide agents with information about the group. Brown also alleges federal agents instigated the January 6 attack.
The retired Green Beret did not enter the Capitol during the violence, but he is charged with trespassing “one hundred feet past the barriers that law enforcement had initially set up to protect the Capitol,” according to court documents.
In a separate case that is not connected legally to the Washington, D.C. riot, Brown is scheduled to go on trial next week in Tampa federal court on weapons charges involving two guns and two grenades allegedly found in his home.
Brown talked with 8 on Your Side from the Pinellas County jail last fall after he was arrested. He said he looks forward to his day in court.
“I’ve told my attorney I’m not accepting any plea deals,” Brown said at the time. “I will take all of this to trial because it’s the only way the federal government is going to have to release everything they know.”
Florida has the highest number of defendants in the country with 98. 36, more than a third, are from the Tampa Bay area. Eight of the Floridians are Oath Keepers and 10 are Proud Boys, according to data collected by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.