Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) called out House Republicans on Wednesday for the presence of Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right violent militia group Oath Keepers, at the first hearing for a new GOP-led panel related to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the riot; however, his 18-year prison sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump upon his return to office.
Republicans used the panel to fuel a “revisionist spectacle,” per The Associated Press, with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) calling the initial House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack a “total sham” and declaring that police officers put on “a pretty good show” in their testimonies about the bloody scenes from the U.S. Capitol that day.
“It’s not every day, of course ... you get to meet someone who was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States. Hasn’t happened in 30 years,” Moskowitz said of Rhodes, adding that the Oath Keepers founder was sitting in the first row, which he said was a “reserved” section controlled by his GOP colleagues.
Rhodes told a HuffPost reporter that he wasn’t there at the panel’s invitation; the committee’s chair, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), said Rhodes just showed up.
