ADN:

Jailed Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes testified Monday in the trial of Alaska state Rep. David Eastman, who identifies as a member of the right-wing group.

Eastman, a Wasilla Republican, is accused of violating a clause of the Alaska constitution that bars people from holding elected office if they belong to a group that advocates the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.

During the trial, now in its fifth day, Eastman said he still identifies as an Oath Keeper despite the role that some of its members played in the violent events of Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to stop the certification of the election President Joe Biden.

Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, was convicted last month of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, in a landmark case for the U.S. Justice Department. Testifying on Monday from his Virginia jail cell where he awaits sentencing, Rhodes said that the Oath Keepers were not engaged in attempting to overthrow the U.S. government and that members of the group who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 did so against his instructions.