Kelly Meggs

Case Summary

Federal prosecutors allege that Kelly Meggs and his wife stormed the Capitol with a group of Oath Keepers, a far-right militia. Investigators searched phone records, social media profiles, credit card records, and publicly available photos and videos to connect both Meggs with the storming of the Capitol. On Dec. 22, 2020, Kelly Meggs allegedly messaged someone on Facebook: "Trump said It's gonna be wild!!!!!!! It's gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that's what he's saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!!" In another message that month, he allegedly wrote that "we will have at least 50-100 OK there. (The government says that "OK" is a reference to the Oath Keepers.) The government also suspects Kelly Meggs planned with other Oath Keepers in the run-up to the insurrection. According to court documents, Meggs used a credit card to pay for hotel rooms for the group in the Washington, D.C., area. On the day of the insurrection, prosecutors allege, both Meggs "prepared themselves for battle" by wearing military-style gear. They then allegedly joined with other members of the Oath Keepers to form a military-style "stack" formation as they stormed the Capitol.

Case History

Meggs pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Jury trial began 9/27/2022. On 11/29/2022, Meggs was found Guilty on five charges: Seditious Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Conspiracy to Prevent an Officer from Discharging Any Duties; Tampering with Documents or Proceedings. Not Guilty of Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting. Sentenced on 5/25/2023 to 12 years incarceration; 36 months supervised release; $500 special assessment. A proclamation commutes the sentence to time served as of January 20, 2025

Later Developments

• 2026-08-04 · federal criminal disposition

  The district court dismissed the indictment with prejudice after the appellate court vacated the convictions on May 21, 2026.

  Legal Status: Convictions vacated and indictment dismissed; this does not erase the historical trial record or establish the status of other matters.

  • Development Source
    United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 22-cr-15, memorandum opinion and order, August 4, 2026U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, court filing via CourtListener2026-10-24

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR
• Primary Documentation
  Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
• Supporting Reporting
  NPR video evidence pageNPR

The original January 6 case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25. Later developments are separately dated and sourced; they concern distinct proceedings and public events.