FILE - Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, center, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, June 25, 2017. A new report says that the names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members appear on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group that's accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism pored over more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists to find more than 370 people it believes are currently working in law enforcement agencies.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Stewart Rhodes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told jurors he is a patriotic American as he took the witness stand to defend himself against charges in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes is trying to counter allegations his far-right extremist group planned an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power. Rhodes began testifying Friday after prosecutors spent weeks laying out their case against him and four others accused of a violent plot to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. Rhodes’ decision to testify carries will open him to intense cross-examination from prosecutors, who will get a chance to question him when the trial resumes next week.
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