FACTBOX-What is the seditious conspiracy charge in the U.S. Capitol riot cases?

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, and another leader of the right-wing militia group have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a trial stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack by then-President Donald Trump's supporters. Here is a look at the seditious conspiracy charge.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, and another leader of the right-wing militia group have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a trial stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack by then-President Donald Trump's supporters.

Here is a look at the seditious conspiracy charge. WHAT IS SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY?

It is defined by U.S. law as attempting "to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States." The charge is part of a statute that dates back to the U.S. Civil War of the 1860s. It carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and an unspecified fine. In the Oath Keepers trial in Washington, the prosecution used various types of messages sent by Rhodes and other members of the group to try to show that they planned to use force to stop the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory over Trump.

Rhodes in a Nov. 5, 2020, text message presented to the jury urged other Oath Keepers "to refuse to accept, acknowledge, respect, or obey any of these imposters or their pretend legislation ... and get your gear squared away and ready to fight." The defendants denied that they plotted to storm the Capitol or block Congress from certifying the election results.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has not set a sentencing date. Mehta will sentence the defendants based on the combination of convictions, the seriousness of those crimes and other factors. HOW COMMONLY IS THE CHARGE BROUGHT?

Seditious conspiracy is rarely prosecuted. A jury in New York in 1995 found Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Muslim cleric known as "the blind sheikh," and several of his followers guilty of 48 charges including seditious conspiracy. They were accused of planning bombings of major landmarks and assassinations in the United States.

Members of a Christian militia called the Hutaree were charged in 2010 with seditious conspiracy. A federal judge dismissed those counts in 2012, citing a lack of evidence. Jurors in the Capitol attack trial on Wednesday convicted Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, who heads the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter, of seditious conspiracy. But the jury acquitted three co-defendants - Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell - of that charge while it convicted them on other charges.

Other members of the Oath Keepers are set to go on trial in December on seditious conspiracy and other charges arising from the Capitol riot, as are members of another right-wing group, the Proud Boys.

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