Oath-keeper William Todd Wilson apologizes, says Stewart Rhodes spoke to Trump mediator on January 6

A member of the Oath-Keepers said the founder of the far-right militia was on the phone with a mediator, former president Donald Trump, on the day of the Capitol riots. and make an unusual request.

William Todd Wilson, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday in DC federal court to ambitious conspiracy and obstruction of a formal proceeding over the January 6 attack, NBC News reported.

Court documents state that, shortly after 5 p.m. on January 6, Wilson and several oath-takers were in a private room at the Phoenix hotel when the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, called someone. Trump’s unidentified intermediaries. and put the person on speaker phone.

“Wilson heard Rhodes repeatedly urge him to tell President Trump to call on groups like the Forced Oath Keepers to oppose the transition of power,” the Justice Department said.

The middleman refused to let Rhodes talk to Trump, the document said, but it didn’t appear to stop him. “Thousands of patriots spontaneously marched on the Capitol… You haven’t seen anything yet,” he texted the group via encrypted chat at 7:30 p.m.

In pleading guilty, Wilson, a former soldier and law enforcement officer, admitted that he agreed with others to participate in the Capitol riots.

The documents state that Wilson joined the Team of Oaths in 2016 and on January 6 last year at the behest of Rhodes, who was arrested in January for his alleged participation in the riot.

“They coordinated across the country to enter Washington, D.C., armed with a variety of weapons, combat equipment and tactics, and ready to respond to Rhodes’ call to take charge,” prosecutors said. weapons at the direction of Rhodes,” prosecutors said. “William Todd Wilson, tried and did, obstruct, influence and obstruct an official procedure, which is the Certificate of Electoral College vote.”

Shortly after 2 p.m. on the day of the uprising, Wilson and the rest of his party broke through the barricades and he was the first of the Vow-Keepers to break into the Capitol through the rooftop doors. West. Prosecutors said: “Wilson was armed with a pocket knife and wore a scarf and beanie to conceal his appearance. He left the Capitol at 2:55 pm

Prosecutors allege that Wilson and his accomplices “continued to conspire, after January 6, 2021, to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force.”

In late January 2021, Wilson threw his cell phone into the Atlantic Ocean “to prevent law enforcement from discovering incriminating evidence of his participation in this conspiracy”. prosecutors said.

He faces 20 years in prison for conspiring to seduce and up to 20 years for obstructing an official proceeding. No sentencing date has been set.

Wilson is the third Oath-holder to plead guilty to the January 6 attack after former Roger Stone bodyguards Joshua James and Brian Ulrich, 44. As part of the plea agreement, both men agreed to cooperate with the union.

Nearly 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots, with more than 250 having pleaded guilty.