Oath Keepers member charged with U.S. Capitol riot sedition to seek release

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A member of the far-right Oath Keepers group charged with seditious conspiracy over allegations he helped plan the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will ask a judge on Thursday to release him while he awaits trial.

Edward Vallejo is one of 11 people prosecutors have linked to the Oath Keepers and accused of seditious conspiracy, arelatively rare charge. Vallejo is scheduled to appear before an Arizona judge at 2:45 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (1945 GMT) for a detention hearing.

Prosecutors say Vallejo is dangerous and want him behind bars while his case unfolds.

In a Jan. 18 court filing, the Justice Department said Vallejo was a co-conspirator in a plot orchestrated by Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes to attack Congress and forcefully oppose the transfer of power between then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, to his successor, Biden, a Democrat. The riot was fueled by Trump’s false claims that his November 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud.

“Vallejo played a central role in the planned use of force in this plot, agreeing and preparing to usher firearms and other related equipment into Washington, D.C., to his co-conspirators,” the Justice Department said in the court filing.

Prosecutors said that Vallejo “also poses a risk of obstruction of justice should he be released.”

Vallejo’s court-appointed public defender said at a brief court hearing last week that he would plead not guilty to all charges.

An indictment released on Jan. 13 against the 11 was the first time suspected participants in the attack were charged with seditious conspiracy, which is defined as attempting “to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States.”

Reporting by Jan Wolfe, additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool

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