Newly released Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes says Trump Jan. 6 pardons ‘good day for America’

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the anti-government group the Oath Keepers, said it was a “good day for America” when President Trump pardoned him and other Jan. 6 defendants on Monday.

“I think it’s a good day for America that all the wrongs are being undone,” he told News4. “None of them should have been here in the first place.”

Rhodes stood outside the Washington, D.C. jail waiting for more people to be released.

“We’re here to welcome them,” he said.

Rhodes, the former leader of the Proud Boys, told the outlet that he was released from a federal correctional facility in Maryland late Monday after Trump issued pardons to more than 1,000 people who stormed the Capitol four years ago.

On his first day in office after his inauguration ceremony, Trump granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons for nearly all of the rioters.

“What they’ve done to these people is outrageous,” Trump said while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday.

Rhodes was serving an 18-year prison term. He was one of the defendants that had their sentences commuted to time served.

The federal judge who oversaw Rhodes’ case said recently the idea of him being absolved of his actions was “frightening.”

Supporters of Jan. 6 rioters stood outside in freezing temperatures overnight to wait for defendants to be released, News4 reported. James Lee Bright, an attorney for Rhodes, said they were “deeply thankful” that Trump commuted his sentence but ultimately believe he will later be pardoned or be successful in his appeal of his sedition conviction.

Topics

'A good day for America': Oath Keepers founder praises Trump pardons

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the militant Oath Keepers organization, praised President Trump following his pardon and release from prison. Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his ...
NBC News - 9h
Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders freed after Trump pardons

Two of the most high-profile defendents from the 2021 US Capitol riot were included in Trump's sweeping pardons.
BBC News - 10h
Heads of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys released from prison after Trump pardons

Four years after they raided the Capitol and assaulted police officers, a group of some of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters are now free men.
ABC News - 4h
High-profile Jan. 6 defendants Rhodes, Tarrio released after Trump clemency

Two of the highest-profile Jan. 6 prisoners — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio — were released from prison Tuesday following President Trump’s order ...
The Hill - 9h
Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders among January 6 prisoners released by Trump

Far-right figures Enrique Tarrio and Steward Rhodes set free after being imprisoned for helping plot Capitol attack. Extremist supporters of Donald Trump who attacked the US Capitol on 6 ...
The Guardian - 11h
Trump Commutes Sentence of Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers Founder

The move, in effect, validated the far-right leader’s defiant claim that his criminal prosecution was a kind of political persecution.
The New York Times - 1d
Trump pardons nearly all Jan. 6 rioters on first day of presidency

President Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants on Monday, making good on a long-standing campaign promise just hours into his second presidency. He briefly said Monday night that he ...
The Hill - 1d
Oath Keepers lawyer gets year in prison in one of last Jan. 6 sentencings before Trump return

An attorney who represented the Oath Keepers was sentenced to a year in prison over her role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, at a proceeding Friday that marked one of the final riot ...
The Hill - 4d
Last defendant from first Oath Keepers Jan. 6 trial sentenced to time served

The final defendant from the first Oath Keepers trial was sentenced Friday to time served for conduct stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Thomas Caldwell, a U.S. Navy veteran from ...
The Hill - Jan. 10