Oath Keepers leader offers to testify before Jan 6 committee amid claims group had ’death list’

Stewart Rhodes has said he will only testify in person and live

The leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia wants to testify before the January 6 committee as long as he’s allowed to do so live and in person.

Stewart Rhodes, who is in jail awaiting trial on seditious conspiracy charges for his role in the attack on the US Capitol, wants to “confront” the panel, his attorney James Bright told Politico.

On Friday, the Justice Department released new details of the extensive planning it alleges Mr Rhodes and eight other members of the Oath Keepers carried out in the lead up to the January 6 riot.

In a court filing, prosecutors said the militia members brought explosives to Washington DC and had a “death list” of Georgia election officials.

The DOJ said it seized “military ordinance grenades” from the vehicle of Oath Keeper Jeremy Brown.

“Indeed, possessing, transporting, and storing various weapons around the Washington, D.C., area was part and parcel to organising and executing” the riot, it said.

The group allegedly held training sessions in Florida to conduct “unconventional warfare”, while the North Carolina chapter were preparing “hasty ambushes”.

Stewart Rhodes has offered to testify before the January 6 committee (AP)

Nine Oath Keepers including Mr Rhodes have pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy.

According to CNN, seven members of the militia are cooperating with the Justice Department investigation, including three who have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.

One of the biggest unresolved mysteries of the insurrection was the discovery of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican National Committees on the day of the Capitol riot.

Video footage released by the FBI shows an unidentified individual leaving two devices outside of the two locations on the evening of 5 January, leading to serious questions about how much of the violence the next day was planned ahead of time.

No one has been charged over planting the bombs.

The January 6 committee’s next public hearing on Tuesday is expected to focus on the role white nationalist extremists groups played in the breach of the Capitol.

The committee has not yet indicated if it will agree to call Mr Rhodes to testify.