Said lawyer Carmen Hernandez, quoted in "Justice Dept. Said to Be Weighing Sedition Charges Against Oath Keepers/Investigators have for weeks focused on the role of the militia in the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob" (NYT).
The potential for sedition charges received renewed attention this week after Michael R. Sherwin, the outgoing leader of the investigation, said on “60 Minutes” that the government had most likely obtained enough evidence to bring such a charge.
“I personally believe the evidence is trending toward that, and probably meets those elements,” Mr. Sherwin said. “I believe the facts do support those charges. And I think that, as we go forward, more facts will support that.”
The comments echoed his assertions in the days after the assault, when Mr. Sherwin said that the Justice Department had formed a strike force of senior national security and public corruption prosecutors to look at more serious charges, including sedition.
“Their only marching orders from me are to build seditious and conspiracy charges related to the most heinous acts that occurred in the Capitol,” Mr. Sherwin, then the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, said at a news conference on Jan. 12....
Mr. Sherwin recorded the interview days before he handed leadership of the inquiry over to Channing D. Phillips, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington. While Mr. Sherwin is no longer working on the investigation, he is still a Justice Department employee and federal prosecutor in Miami.
Is the new administration pursing sedition charges? The article says the decision about that has "languished" because of the Senate confirmation process. The new Attorney General, Merrick B. Garland, was sworn in on March 11th. The NYT observes that "The Justice Department has rarely brought charges of sedition, the crime of conspiring to overthrow the government, and has not successfully prosecuted such a case in more than 20 years."
