Thread by @ZoeTillman

A judge is hearing args on the govt's request to keep Kenneth Harrelson, charged in the 1/6 Oath Keepers conspiracy, in jail. One tidbit so far — govt says a member of the OK group was right at the door as the mob breached Rotunda entrance, but that person hasn't been charged yet

Why does this matter? The Oath Keeper indictment charges members with destroying govt property as they breached the doors, incl. under a theory of aiding/abetting as part of the larger mob. So this un-ID'd person would link the group more directly to the broken Capitol doors

It's also just more confirmation that the Oath Keepers case could get bigger. As Rachel notes here, there was another reference by the govt to an unnamed member

https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp/status/1382347039628005385

As an aside: This hearing has been plagued with technical difficulties and delays. The judge's connection has cut out (he warned at the start that he is somewhere with an iffy connection) and Harrelson's connection from jail has cut out several times

AUSA reiterates claim made in a filing this week (assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2061…), that the govt believes the Comfort Inn in Ballston was a "quick reaction force" site for the Oath Keepers — where members stashed weapons and were on stand-by to potentially "ferry" them into DC on Jan. 6

The govt included a pic from the hotel that they said shows Harrelson rolling what appears to be a "rifle case" out on Jan. 7. AUSA says they had evidence of other OKs carrying similar cases at the hotel, and one had an item under a sheet or linen with the "outlines" of a rifle

Harrelson's lawyer is up, and she's arguing to distance him from the "stack" of Oath Keepers identified by the govt that moved towards the entrance in a line, saying images show Harrelson to the side, and yelling words of encouragement towards the crowd generally

The govt has argued that Harrelson was ahead of the stack and served as a leader urging them to go forward, and that messages before and after speak to his leadership role within the group of alleged conspirators

Harrelson's lawyer argues that the govt's evidence most concretely supported that there was preplanning by the Oath Keepers to provide security details for Roger Stone and other speakers on Jan. 5/6, and anything more about what they planned to do at the Capitol is "speculation"

The judge asks about the evidence of Harrelson yelling/gesturing towards the "stack" and his lawyer says there is "no question" that he was encouraging them, but argues that he wasn't the only one doing so

Harrelson's lawyer says the govt has no evidence that he knew Jessica Watkins, another person charged in the Oath Keepers conspiracy: "...so much of what the govt has alleged is based on the actions and, significantly, the rhetoric of other individuals"

Judge asks about messages Harrelson sent re: resigning from the OKs but then later comms with leader Stewart Rhodes — didn't that show "a degree of deceit", the judge asks. Harrelson's lawyer says no, that those messages could show he wanted to disavow and then changed his mind

Rhodes hasn't been charged in connection with Jan. 6 and is referred to as "Person One" in filings, and the lawyers have tried to stick with that today, but there's been a few slips. For more on Rhodes: buzzfeednews.com/article/kenben…

Judge Amit Mehta took a short break after hearing arguments re: Kenneth Harrelson's motion for pretrial release (Harrelson has been in jail since his arrest and the govt is arguing to keep him there) is now back on the line and about to announce his decision

Mehta says the govt's evidence is "somewhat ambiguous" about whether Harrelson took a leadership role with respect to charged conduct — as opposed to lawful activities by the OKs — but he feels the evidence is stronger in terms of his intent to obstruct Congress that day

Mehta notes that unlike in other cases involving the OK conspiracy, the govt has presented evidence about Harrelson's movements within the Capitol that support the allegations that he was actively searching for lawmakers, as opposed to being an "accidental tourist"

Mehta says the govt's evidence also supports a finding that Harrelson poses a danger a la other OKs who have been detained (Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins) — comms with Stewart Rhodes before and *after* Jan. 6, deleted messages, prepared to have weapons "at the ready"

Mehta says that having presided over all of the Oath Keepers cases in recent weeks, he believes the evidence the govt has presented in Harrelson's case is the strongest to date that there were plans to have a "quick reaction force" ready to bring guns into DC on Jan. 6

Now: Kenneth Harrelson, charged in the Oath Keepers' conspiracy on Jan. 6, will stay in jail pending trial. Judge cited the govt's evidence that he was involved in stashing weapons outside of DC for a "quick reaction force" and was "actively" looking for lawmakers in the Capitol

Prosecutors have alleged Oath Keepers planned to have a "quick reaction force" with a stash of weapons on Jan. 6. They shared new evidence today, saying hotel surveillance video showed members with what appeared to be rifle cases and a rifle under a sheet buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Earlier this week, the govt shared an image from the hotel surveillance video that they said showed Kenneth Harrelson w/ one of the purported rifle cases. A judge ruled today that Harrelson posed a danger going forward, and ordered him to stay behind bars buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…