- 18 USC 2384: Seditious conspiracy.
- Wikipedia: Seditious Conspiracy.
- NYT: Oath Keepers Leader Convicted of Sedition in Landmark Jan. 6 Case.
- Insider: What is the potential penalty if someone is convicted of 'seditious conspiracy'
Michael McDaniel, Director of Homeland Law at Cooley Law School, told Insider the case against the Proud Boys would likely carry with it the maximum sentence of 20 years, based on the magnitude of the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"To me, this was a textbook case," McDaniel said. "It was the fact that they were smashing windows, pouring into the Capitol, at exactly the time that the Senate is counting, under the election Control Act, they're counting the ballots of the electors from each state. That's what made this so egregious to me and made it seem seditious to me from the beginning."
The last time the United States prosecuted anyone under the seditious conspiracy law was in the case of the Hutaree militia in 2010, when nine members of the so-called "Christian Patriot" movement were arrested for plotting to kill police officers and attack additional officers at their funerals.
In the case of the Hutaree militia, defense lawyers argued the men were play fighting and their criticism of the government was protected under the First Amendment. A judge dropped the sedition charges before the defendants faced a jury, in part due to concerns about protected speech.
"There's been this theme ever since where the question is, were the individuals just criticizing the government?" McDaniels said. "Or were they discussing the conspiracy itself, was it a part of the illegal agreement?"
In order for the Proud Boys to be convicted of the seditious conspiracy charges, McDaniels said, four elements have to be proven in court.
"You have to have an agreement to carry out a criminal act. Secondly, it has to be criminal, it has to be illegal. Third, you have to knowingly participate," McDaniels said. "The prosecutor has to prove that the individuals who have been indicted now knew that this was an activity on behalf of everybody involved. And then there has to be some overt act, you have to be advancing the goal of the conspiracy."
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- From Lawfare: Seditious Kvetching: The Surprisingly Non-Trivial Defense in the Oath Keepers Prosecution.
- From Wikipedia: Sedition.
- From Wikipedia: Conspiracy.
- Seditious Conspiracy, The Smith Act, and Prosecution forReligious Speech Advocating the Violent Overthrow ofGovernment.
- From Lawfare: Seditious Kvetching: The Surprisingly Non-Trivial Defense in the Oath Keepers Prosecution.
- From Wikipedia: Sedition.
- From Wikipedia: Conspiracy.
- Seditious Conspiracy, The Smith Act, and Prosecution forReligious Speech Advocating the Violent Overthrow ofGovernment.
