WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 A member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group who was part of a security detail for former President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone before storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to more than four years in prison.
Roberto Minuta, who was seen on video guarding Stone hours before the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was among six Oath Keeper members for what prosecutors said was a violent plot to stop the transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
Also on Thursday, an Arizona man was sentenced to three years behind bars followed by one year of home confinement for his role in the same plot. Edward Vallejo, a U.S. Army veteran from Phoenix, oversaw a 鈥淨uick Reaction Force鈥 at a Virginia hotel that was prepared to deploy an arsenal of weapons into Washington if needed, authorities say.
Vallejo and Minuta were both , the most serious charge the Justice Department has brought in the Jan. 6 attack.
Two other Oath Keepers, including , were sentenced last week after being convicted of the rarely used charge. Rhodes was ordered to serve 18 years behind bars 鈥 the longest sentence that has been handed down so far in hundreds of Capitol riot cases. Kelly Meggs, who led the group鈥檚 Florida chapter, was sentenced to 12 years.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed with the Justice Department that Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers鈥 actions could be punished as 鈥渢errorism,鈥 increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidelines. But the judge has consistently issued sentences shorter than those prosecutors have sought for Oath Keeper members.
Mehta told Vallejo that he can鈥檛 conspire to 鈥渦ndo鈥 the results of an election just because he and his cohorts believed the process failed them.
鈥淚t can鈥檛 be that dozens of judges got it wrong,鈥 he said, referring to the judges who rejected legal challenges after the 2020 election brought by Trump and his Republican allies. 鈥淚f you believe in the system, if you believe in democracy, you take the good with the bad.鈥
The Justice Department had sought 17 years in prison for both Minuta and Vallejo.
Minuta told the judge he is ashamed of his actions and was 鈥渞epulsed鈥 by the lack of remorse Rhodes showed at his own sentencing.
鈥淢y emotions got the best of me, and I鈥檓 deeply apologetic, your honor,鈥 he told Mehta. 鈥淚 was misled and na茂ve."
Before handing down the sentence of four years and six months, the judge told Minuta that the law doesn鈥檛 permit anybody to 鈥済ather up arms to battle your government.鈥
鈥淭his is not about politics. This is not about your beliefs. It鈥檚 about your conduct,鈥 Mehta said.
Minuta, who owned a New York tattoo shop, was in communication on Jan. 6 with Rhodes, who described Minuta in a message as one of his "most trusted men,鈥 according to federal prosecutors. Minuta purchased 5,500 rounds of ammunition as Jan. 6 approached, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said he hasn't shown true remorse, noting that Minuta took to social media after to slam the investigation as politically motivated and referred to Jan. 6 defendants as 鈥淧OLITICAL PRISONERS." A fundraiser page that was linked to his Twitter page said the government 鈥渉as been weaponized to destroy dissidents.鈥
鈥淭hat鈥檚 his worldview,鈥 Justice Department prosecutor Troy Edwards said. 鈥淢r. Minuta is a danger to himself and to his republic because of his worldview.鈥
Lawyers for the Oath Keepers say there was never any plot to storm the Capitol or stop the transfer of power.
Minuta's attorney, William Shipley, said his client came to Washington to serve in the Oath Keepers' personal security detail for Stone and 鈥渉ad no intention or plan to engage in any other activity.鈥
Shipley said Minuta's fears of government 鈥渢yranny鈥 were not sparked by the baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, but grew out of his tattoo shop being shut down by lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic. Shipley said Minuta鈥檚 actions on Jan. 6 were 鈥渞egrettable鈥 and 鈥渋diotic.鈥
鈥淏ut worthy of a multiyear prison sentence? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥 he added.
Minuta was among several people in Oath Keepers gear seen flanking Stone on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.
Stone, an informal Trump adviser, has denied having any knowledge of or involvement in anything illegal on Jan. 6.
Vallejo told the judge his life has been destroyed and he regrets ever associating himself with Rhodes.
鈥淚 assure you that I鈥檓 not a traitor or a terrorist,鈥 he said, fighting back tears. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned my lesson and keeping my big mouth shut.鈥
Justice Department prosecutor Louis Manzo said Vallejo, as a 鈥淨uick Reaction Force鈥 leader, managed one of the most important components of the Oath Keepers鈥 conspiracy: the cache of firearms stashed at the Virginia hotel. The weapons were never deployed.
On a podcast recorded early Jan. 6, Vallejo warned of a 鈥済uerrilla war鈥 if Congress went ahead with the certification of Biden鈥檚 electoral victory. A day after the riot, Vallejo traveled into Washington to 鈥渃onduct surveillance鈥 and 鈥減robe the defense line鈥 of police and 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Guard troopers protecting the Capitol, according to prosecutors.
Defense attorney Matthew Peed said Vallejo was a relatively minor figure in the case. Vallejo brought a stockpile of food with him to Washington because he thought there would be an 鈥渙ngoing protest,鈥 not a war, the defense lawyer said.
鈥淗e thought there was going to be a movement,鈥 Peed said.
Last Friday, for two other Oath Keepers who were acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious charges. Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months behind bars and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years in prison.
Two more Oath Keeper sentencings are scheduled for Friday.
The Oath Keepers sentencings come weeks after leaders of another far-right group 鈥 the Proud Boys 鈥 were . Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and three other group leaders were found guilty in May of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to keep Trump in the White House. They're scheduled to be sentenced in August.
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Richer reported from Boston.
