WASHINGTON, D.C. – When jurors return to deliberate the fate of five members of the Oath Keepers on Monday, they will have to answer different questions for each defendant, and the answers could mean the difference between jail time and walking free.
After nearly eight weeks of arguments and testimony, the jury began deliberations on Tuesday and they will pick up where they left off after the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Kelly Meggs, of Dunnellon, and Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, are charged alongside Oath Keepers leader Elmer Stewart Rhodes, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell.
Meggs and Harrelson were the only defendants to not take the stand in their own defense.
All five face one of the most severe charges to come out of the attack on the U.S. Capitol – conspiracy to commit sedition.
According to the jury instructions, they all face a charge that they conspired to obstruct an official proceeding – the certification of the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021.
They also face a charge, according to the instructions, that they conspired to prevent members of Congress from discharging their official duties.
But each defendant faces additional charges that the jurors will also have to decide.
Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins are charged with destruction of government property for their actions that day.
Watkins is charged with impeding officers.
Rhodes, Meggs, Harrelson and Caldwell are charged with obstruction of justice based on allegation that they deleted content from their personal cell phones to prevent a grand jury from obtaining that content.
How long it will take to answer those questions based on what was presented in court is up to the jury.
If convicted of conspiracy to commit sedition, each defendant faces a maximum 20 year prison sentence.
Meggs and Harrelson are two of 35 Central Florida residents who have been arrested and charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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