Jury verdicts that sent members of the Oath Keepers to federal prison for up to 18 years should be overturned because two Capitol Police officers committed “willful perjury” in the first Jan. 6 Oath Keepers trial, according to the group’s founder.
“Of course, we defendants knew both Dunn and Lazarus were lying on the stand,” Mr. Rhodes told The Epoch Times, “but because the government withheld critical exculpatory video evidence from the defense, we couldn’t use that video to catch them in the lie.”
On Jan. 6, Mr. Lazarus served as the head of the security detail for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The revelations led Oath Keepers defense attorney Brad Geyer—who represented Kenneth Harrelson at trial—to call for the guilty verdicts to be overturned.
He said the security video “raises profound concerns about the integrity of the entire trial proceedings.”
Mr. Rhodes echoed that sentiment, saying that Mr. Baker’s revelations prove there was “planned, coached, willful perjury and subornation of perjury committed by the government in our trial.”
“Our convictions should be overturned, and we should be set free because none of us committed the crimes for which we were prosecuted and convicted by a hopelessly biased D.C. jury,” Mr. Rhodes said in a statement from the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland.
“We are innocent, and if our justice system were working as it should be, that is what would happen,” Mr. Rhodes said. “I can only trust that God will see justice done.”
He was acquitted of two other charges.
Three other Oath Keepers and one associate were found guilty of various Jan. 6 charges, including one other for seditious conspiracy.
All of the Oath Keepers appealed against their convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Testimony from Mr. Lazarus was key in the trial because it contradicted accounts from Oath Keepers members and independent journalist Stephen Horn that the Oath Keepers stood in front of Mr. Dunn as a buffer to protect him from an “angry mob” and prevent what they feared could become a shooting.
On Oct. 31, 2022, Mr. Lazarus testified that he came up the stairs from the first floor of the Capitol to find the Oath Keepers in a confrontation with Mr. Dunn. It was a heated discussion about politics, he said.
“I saw Officer Dunn, like, engaged in conversation or arguing or whatever with the rioters,” Mr. Lazarus testified, according to the official court transcript.
“So I just kind of, like, was just figuring out ways, as soon as I get the opportunity to go through, I’m going to go through.
“I couldn’t tell exactly every detail of what they were talking about. But it was clearly politics they were talking about. The election, stop the steal, different things like that,” Mr. Lazarus said.
“And it was very antagonistic, the dialogue between the folks in [tactical] gear and the rioters and Dunn.”
Mr. Baker’s examination of Capitol Police CCTV security video showed that at the time of the alleged confrontation, Mr. Lazarus was far away in the Capitol tunnels and subway system, helping to evacuate U.S. senators and staff.
By the time Mr. Lazarus arrived at Mr. Dunn’s location, the Oath Keepers were long gone, Mr. Baker’s report said.
Testimony from Mr. Dunn conflicted with Mr. Lazarus’ account.
Mr. Dunn testified that when he came up the stairway from the Crypt level to the Small House Rotunda, Mr. Lazarus was already there.
‘Tip of the Iceberg’
“The prosecution was caught withholding exculpatory evidence several times, and we had no doubt there was more that was withheld,” Mr. Rhodes said.“This video is important, but I am sure it is only the tip of the iceberg of what will eventually come to light.”
Messages left with U.S. Capitol Police for comment on the testimony from Mr. Lazarus and Mr. Dunn have not been returned.
The U.S. Department of Justice has also not provided comments on Mr. Lazarus and Mr. Dunn.
At the trial, prosecutors described an Oath Keepers conspiracy allegedly hatched in online meetings and encrypted chats to attack the Capitol in order to foil or delay the counting of 2020 Electoral College votes by a joint session of Congress.
Mr. Rhodes has been sharply critical of the Oath Keepers prosecution, calling it a “Stalinistic show trial” that saw “prosecutors and government witnesses willfully lying to the already politically biased D.C. jury to demonize an organization made up of honorable men and women.”
Mr. Rhodes said the defense in his trial was stymied in its attempts to tell the real story of the Oath Keepers’ Jan. 6 presence in Washington.
Mr. Nichols and Oath Keeper Steve Clayton ascended the east steps of the Capitol with Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Johnson and went inside to extract 15 officers in riot gear and one other officer that Mr. Johnson said were trapped inside the Rotunda entrance.
Armed with a bullhorn and shouting, “Make a hole!” Mr. Nichols parted the crowd on the steps and led the officers down to the plaza. He was trailed by Mr. Johnson and Mr. Clayton, videos show.
Videos show that as the group descended the stairs, other Oath Keepers appeared to help clear the path, including Brian Ulrich, Jonathan Walden, Roberto Minuta, and Ricky Jackson.
“At my trial, it was disturbing to see the extent to which Judge Mehta went to suppress the exculpatory evidence we did have from being shown to the jury,” Mr. Rhodes said.
The Epoch Times—in its examination between April and July of previously unreleased Capitol Police security video—found footage of Mr. Rhodes on the Capitol’s upper northwest terrace just before 3 p.m. on Jan. 6.
In the video, Mr. Rhodes appeared to be attempting cell phone calls without success. It appeared that he was interviewed briefly by a podcaster, then continued trying to make calls, the video shows.
Gloved Hand
At one point in the video, a gloved hand reached in and appeared to force the camera to move to the left after Mr. Rhodes walked out of view.Mr. Rhodes and two Oath Keepers defense attorneys said they never saw or received the video from prosecutors as part of discovery in the trial.
“I don’t remember seeing this video,” one of Mr. Rhodes’ defense attorneys, Edward Tarpley, told The Epoch Times in August.
“It may have been in discovery, but I certainly didn’t see it.
“We were given thousands of videos to review. It seems pretty clear to me that someone actually was following Stewart on the ground with the video camera.”
“Obviously, had the defense team known about this, it would have made a big difference in the cross-examination of Dunn and Lazarus at trial,” Mr. Tarpley told The Epoch Times in a statement.
“Clearly, in light of these revelations, it is imperative that the entire 41,000 hours of CCTV footage be released to the public immediately.”
Mr. Rhodes agreed.
“All of the video footage in the government’s possession should be released to the public,” Mr. Rhodes said. “Let the American people see it all, and judge for themselves.”
Mr. Rhodes offered to speak before U.S. House committees about the Capitol Police testimony, weaponization of the federal government, and “the willful criminalization of patriotism and political speech.”
The Committee on House Administration and its Subcommittee on Oversight have held several hearings in recent months on the Capitol Police and the Capitol Police Inspector General.
The men alleged that the bureau used heavy-handed tactics on misdemeanor suspects and shuffled Jan. 6 cases around the country to make it appear that domestic terrorism is a bigger issue than it really is.
