Thread by @Teri_Kanefield

Yup. And here's the statement of the offense:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco……

Joshua James pleaded guilty.

The facts include "agreeing to take part in a plan developed by Rhodes to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power by January 20, 2021" by force.

By force.

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James is naming names. (Screenshot #1)

At the end of a 🔥 statement of the offense, the prosecutors let us know that the details included do not constitute a "complete statement of all facts known by Joshua James or the government."(#2)

They're not telling all they know.

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The easiest way to get convictions is to get people to plead guilty. Duh, right?

The DOJ now has a conviction for seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to prevent the transfer of power by force.

The easiest way to collect evidence is to get it directly from co-conspirators.

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Trials are unpredictable. It's so much easier when the person just says, "Yeah, I did it."

And it's always hard to get all the evidence, particularly because defendants don't have to talk.

Here's what Merrick Garland said on Jan. 5⤵️(his speech frustrated a lot of people).

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law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…

Here are the elements of seditious conspiracy:
🔹Two or more persons . . .
🔹Conspire to overthrow . . . or destroy by force the Government of the US or to levy war against them . . .
🔹by force . . .

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. . . or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.

The key to this crime is the use of force.

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Treason is almost impossible to charge. It’s defined in the Constitution as⤵️

SCOTUS has said that the “enemy” must be a country in which we are at open war, meaning a war declared by Congress.

So seditious conspiracy is the closest we have to a charge of treason.

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It is still going to take time.

Now the prosecutors follow all the evidence they get from James (who has to turn over everything he knows.)

The next ring will be confronted with evidence and a witness statement. They'll have to make their decision.

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Back to the facts.

Lots of talk during the weeks before Jan. 6 about how
"It will be a bloody and desperate fight. We are going to have a fight. That can’t be avoided."

And a shopping trip:

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Part of the plan involved being prepared to report to the White House and use force if anyone tried to remove Trump from the White House.

Odd.

Did they think Trump's term ends when Congress certifies the election results?🤷‍♀️

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The facts allege that Rhodes came up with the plan (and he has a Yale law degree, so you'd think he read the Constitution.)

Rhodes was also indicted and is awaiting trial.

Now he finds out his buddy pleaded guilty and is turning over evidence.

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washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/…

This was only the beginning. In the evening on Jan. 6, they planned to stop an inauguration (#1)

Then, on Jan. 8th, they're all like OMG we better start deleting our messages !!! (#2)

By Jan, 20, they were getting scared (#3)

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Reading the messages they sent each other is stunning.

They really thought they were going to overthrow the government of the United States.

They thought they would capture the Capitol and take on the "National Guard or other government actors."

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I suppose it's possible for these guys to be so delusional that they thought they could buy a bunch of guns and overthrow the US government (even if they did think the federal government consisted of a "cabal of elites).

Or they thought they had higher-up inside help.

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An FBI agent previously told the court that James chauffered Roger Stones in a golf cart on Jan. 5, the day before the insurrection.

I wish I knew what James told investigators about Roger Stone.

cnn.com/2022/03/02/pol…

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