Jury seated in Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial
By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Whitney Wild, CNN
A jury has been seated in the seditious conspiracy trial against five leaders of the Oath Keepers.
There are 12 jurors and four alternates, including nine men and seven women. The jurors will be sworn in Monday morning.
Opening statements also will begin Monday.
The five defendants — Stewart Rhodes, Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Thomas Caldwell — are charged with conspiring to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force when they allegedly planned to stop Joe Biden from becoming president in January 2021. They have all pleaded not guilty.
The eclectic group of Washington, DC, locals selected as jurors is made up of lawyers, federal employees, education workers and consultants who had largely not heard of the Oath Keepers organization and those that did only had vague notions of the group.
The 16 had little reaction when informed they were selected for the trial, which could last more than six weeks. Those who were not selected rushed out of the courtroom.
“They train and pretend like they are in the army,” one juror who has lived on Capitol Hill for over a decade, told the judge in court.
Another juror said he had read that the organization held a “rigid view of the United States” and are “on the right side of the political spectrum.”
“I don’t get positive impressions,” he added.
Several jurors told the court they did not like politics or watching the news, describing it as “depressing.”
“I find the whole thing relatively distasteful,” one juror said. Another juror said she had a one-year-old child, and the only show playing in her home is the kids musical show CoComelon.
Each person selected assured the judge they would be able to be impartial, leaving any preconceived notions about the group, supporters of former President Donald Trump and the events of January 6 out of the courtroom.
“Do I want to be on this jury? Not really,” one juror said. “Do I think I can be fair and impartial? Yes.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
The-CNN-Wire
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