Attorney for far-right Oath Keepers extremist group pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — An attorney who represented the far-right Oath Keepers pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges stemming from a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including members of the extremist group.

Kellye SoRelle, who was general counsel for the antigovernment group and a close associate of its founder, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17 by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C.

SoRelle, 45, of Granbury, Texas, answered routine questions by the judge as she pleaded guilty to two charges: a felony count of obstructing justice and a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The felony carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but her estimated sentencing guidelines recommend a maximum of 16 months behind bars.

SoRelle was arrested in Junction, Texas, in September 2022. Her case remained suspended for months amid questions about her mental health.

More than a year ago, medical experts concluded that SoRelle was mentally incompetent to stand trial. In November 2023, she reported to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility for treatment. Last month, Mehta ruled that SoRelle had recovered to an extent that she could understand the nature of her charges and could assist in her defense.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving a 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating a plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 presidential election. After Rhodes’ arrest, SoRelle told media outlets she was acting as the president of the Oath Keepers in his absence.

SoRelle, a former Texas prosecutor, was photographed with Rhodes outside the Capitol on Jan. 6. As the riot erupted, she posted a chat message for other Oath Keepers that said, “We are acting like the founding fathers — can’t stand down. Per Stewart, and I concur.”

“Although SoRelle did not personally enter the Capitol Building on January 6, she understood the role those inside and outside the building, like herself, played in delaying the certification proceeding that had been taking place inside the Capitol,” said a court filing accompanying her guilty plea.

The night before the riot, she joined Rhodes in meeting with other extremist group members in an underground garage in Washington, D.C. The meeting also included former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a separate plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden after the election.

Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The group recruits current and former military, police and first responders and pledges to “fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

During the trial for Rhodes and other Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, jurors heard testimony that SoRelle had a romantic relationship with Rhodes.

SoRelle pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for encouraging others to destroy electronic evidence of their participation in the plot. Two days after the riot, Rhodes and SoRelle both sent messages from her cellphone encouraging Oath Keepers to delete any incriminating evidence.

She was indicted on other charges, including conspiring with Rhodes and other Oath Keepers to obstruct Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. But she did not plead guilty to the conspiracy charge.

Also on Wednesday, a judge set a Feb. 3 trial date for an Illinois man charged with firing a gun during the riot. John Banuelos climbed scaffolding outside the Capitol, took out his revolver and fired two shots into the air, according to prosecutors.

Banuelos, of Summit, Illinois, was arrested in March. U.S. District Judge Judge Tanya Chutkan refused on Wednesday to free Banuelos from pretrial custody. She ruled that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the public.

“It could have been much more tragic,” the judge said of the gunshots.