Oath Keepers boss guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 case
The leader of the country’s most prominent political group faces two felony counts that carry a maximum of seven years in prison.
On Friday, US District Judge Paul Crotty found that the former Ohio State Board of Education official, Bob Thomas, the executive director of the Christian organization, and his allies conspired to influence the conduct of a US election.
Crotty did not find Thomas guilty of violating the law, but he found sufficient evidence for a felony conviction.
The charges against him stem from a lawsuit filed in 2010 by the Center for Inquiry, a nonprofit organization that promotes the separation of church and state. A former member of the Ohio High School for Boys, Thomas headed the country’s largest school in 2003 when it was accused under a state law of having a child sex-abuse ring. Thomas was removed from public office for seven years.
Thomas and his allies have been accused in the case of trying to influence national leaders through their Christian beliefs.
Thomas said in court that his prosecution of Crotty was a political move to destroy his organization.
“I’ve never been vindicated in my life,” Thomas told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Thomas could receive up to 18 months in prison.
Thomas has agreed to be tried in a separate case on federal conspiracy charges.
After the charges against Thomas were announced, members of his organization and supporters of free speech in America posted a series of tweets calling his prosecution a “political move” and saying “the prosecution is a continuation of the attacks against our organization and the Free Speech Movement.”
Thomas has refused to accept the charges. Two of his attorneys told the AP: “We will continue to fight this in order to free this man from the government’s grasp.”
When asked if he would accept the case the next time it is brought, Thomas said he would “most certainly” accept the opportunity to plead guilty to the charges against him.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit that promotes separation of church and state, had sought an injunction against the upcoming charges. The organization’s president, Dan Barker, and attorney Corynne McSherry had said Crotty
