Oath Keepers lawyer’s trial delayed for competency treatment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The trial of a lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group will be delayed so she can get treatment she needs to be mentally competent to stand trial, a judge decided Friday.
Kellye SoRelle is charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, but experts for the prosecution and defense found she is not competent for a trial that had been set for July. Those evaluations predicted that three to four months of treatment can restore her to competency, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said.
She has pleaded not guilty and been free pending trial in Texas. Defense attorney Horatio Aldredge agreed an in-patient treatment program will be required once a spot becomes available. Attorneys did not disclose details of her condition, and Aldredge’s office declined additional comment on her behalf.
SoRelle, who served as general counsel for the antigovernment group, was photographed with leader Stewart Rhodes outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and was present at an underground garage meeting the night before.
Rhodes has been convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges and was sentenced last month to 18 years in prison, the longest term yet in the riot. The garage meeting included Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, who was also recently convicted of seditious conspiracy.
SoRelle is also charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice for tampering with documents and a misdemeanor charge for entering Capitol grounds.