In the wake of the break-in and attempted murder at the home of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the threat of right wing political violence is at the top of people's minds again going into the midterm elections. In his speech last week on the topic, President Joe Biden warned about "the dangerous rise in political violence and voter intimidation," which really kicked into high gear after Donald Trump incited the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. New polling by ABC News and the Washington Post shows 88% of Americans worry about political violence. Unfortunately, polling also shows large numbers of Americans don't understand that the "antifa" violence of Fox News fantasies is largely imaginary, while right wing violence is very real. Still, it's against this backdrop of concern that Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four of his militia members are facing trial for seditious conspiracy for their part in the January 6 insurrection.
It might seem a little odd at first that, as the first day of the defense case played out Friday, their argument seems to be that Oath Keepers can't be guilty because they're just a bunch of harmless kooks. Also they claim they can't be racists who rioted to install a fascist leader in the White House because — yep, they went there — they have Black friends.
