COLUMBUS, Ohio – Six more people linked to the far-right militia group Oath Keepers were indicted on charges they planned and coordinated in the attack on the United States Capitol, officials said on Friday.
The case against Oath Keepers affiliates is the largest conspiracy case brought by the United States Department of Justice to date in the January 6 uprising. The six new people arrested this week are indicted alongside three others who were accused last month of plotting to undo President Joe Biden’s victory.
Authorities say the defendants prepared themselves weeks before the attack, participated in training sessions and recruited others. They wore tactical vests and helmets, moved in an organized manner while advancing on Capitol Hill and communicating during the siege, prosecutors say. Several defendants formed a “pile” formation used by foot soldiers, marching up the Capitol steps with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, officials said.
The new arrests include an Ohio couple, Sandra and Bennie Parker. The other charges are: Graydon Young of Englewood, Florida; her sister, Laura Steele of Thomasville, North Carolina; Kelly Meggs and his wife Connie Meggs, from Dunnellon, Florida.
Kelly Meggs, who officials say is the head of the Oath Keepers chapter in Florida, wrote in a Facebook message in December: “Trump said he was going to be wild !!!!!!! It will be wild !!!!!!! He wants us to make him WILD, that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make him wild !!! “, according to court documents.
Later that month, officials say Young contacted a company that offers firearms and combat training over a four-person rifle class, according to the prosecution.
Authorities say Bennie Parker was in contact with a member of the Oath Keepers who was arrested last month, Jessica Watkins, before the trip to Washington, discussing things like the uniforms and equipment they would bring on January 6. Authorities say Sandra Parker entered the Capitol while her husband kept in touch outside.
On January 9, Watkins told Bennie Parker in a message that he thought the FBI was only interested in people “who destroyed things,” according to the complaint.
“I’m sure they are not seeing some pictures, but no militia,” replied Bennie Parker.
Another man accused last month in the case, Thomas Caldwell, suggested getting a boat to carry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River, officials said. Caldwell’s lawyer called the charge “imaginative”.
Messages asking for comments on the charges were sent on Friday to the defendants’ lawyers.
To date, federal accusations have been made in more than 200 cases involving the attack by a crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump, including many with ties to far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers. Several members of the Proud Boys, a chauvinist and extreme right-wing extremist group that clung to the policies of the Trump administration, were also accused of conspiracy and of working together during the siege.