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By Katelyn Polantz, CNN reporter, Crime and Justice
Federal prosecutors cited seditious plot as a felony being investigated in a recent search that appears to be related to the investigation into the U.S. Capitol riots, according to a court document supporting the search.
The ruling, revealed by iPhone search of Texas lawyer linked to Oath Keepers, Kellye SoRelle, again raises the possibility that the Justice Department is considering using the provocation charge.
Sedition has not been used against any of the more than 600 federal Capitol Riots defendants and is rarely charged. But the possibility that federal authorities might attempt to use him as a legal hammer in response to the insurgency hangs over the investigation from the former acting U.S. prosecutor in DC. announced for the first time it was under study.
The Department of Justice has so far dodged to accuse the defendants of the Capitol riots of sedition. Instead, he chose to bring over 100 cases alleging a more specific crime of obstruction, which carries the same potential weight of jail time but may be less of a legal challenge.
The search is also a sign that the federal investigation into right-wing groups whose members participated in the January 6 uprising is continuing. The warrant, signed by a DC district court magistrate, is dated August 30.
The search warrant cited a slew of crimes being investigated in accordance with other major January 6 cases, such as obstruction of Congress, conspiracy and violent entry into Capitol Hill. But that also included sedition, according to a copy of warrant documentation provided to CNN by a SoRelle associate. The Huffington Post first reported on the details of the mandate on Thursday.
While a criminal code may appear on a search warrant, that doesn’t mean it will lead to that charge – or any other charge. SoRelle has not been charged with a felony. She was unavailable for CNN comment on Thursday.
In tweets Wednesday night about the search for her cell phone, SoRelle hinted that she believed a conspiracy was targeting her.
She publicly identifies herself as the general counsel for the Oath Keepers, the far-right paramilitary organization that federal prosecutors have focused on in their biggest January 6 conspiracy case to date. She does not represent any accused of the Capitol Riots, according to DC Federal Court records.
Most of the defendants have pleaded not guilty and are heading to trial, although prosecutors have recruited key cooperators linked to the group through guilty plea agreements.
SoRelle says she also works with grassroots groups supporting former President Donald Trump.
The-CNN-Wire
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