"Berry had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding and cooperated with the government, testifying at two trials for fellow Oath Keepers.

At one trial, Berry testified that Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs " who was convicted of seditious conspiracy " told a group of fellow members on the east front of the Capitol that they "were going to stop the vote count" before they formed a military stack and headed into the building "like a battering ram."

While it might seem strange to say, Berry told the judge Friday, he is thankful to federal prosecutors for bringing the case against him, saying they gave him a "stern wake-up call" that took him off the "path of radicalization" he was on.

Berry called his conduct "foolish" and said he let his emotions get the best of him because he thought he was doing something "for the greater good," but he had now come to realize that was "entirely false." Berry said he'll regret his decisions "for the rest of my life."

***

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the trial of numerous Oath Keeper defendants " including founder Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with other members " said it is important for Americans to understand the seriousness of the evidence against the group, noting that he'd read some comments online disparaging the case.

He spoke about the massive cache of weapons that the Oath Keepers had stashed across the river in Virginia in preparation for Jan. 6, weapons that Rhodes expressed regret over not bringing to the Capitol that day.

"What this group did and planned for was violence," Mehta said. "The words don't lie."

The Oath Keepers, he added, were at the Capitol to "violently prevent the laws of this country from being executed."

While Berry's conduct was not honorable, Mehta said, what he did afterward was.

The judge said the American people owe Berry a debt of gratitude for standing tall and for telling the truth, even when it was difficult and could result in personal repercussions.

"It took a 20-year-old, 19 at the time, to figure it out," Mehta said. "He did what was right. He did what was honest. He did what was decent."

Berry came to understand, Mehta said, that the "cause wasn't just, it wasn't righteous. It was wrong."

Mehta sentenced Berry to three years' probation, the sentence requested by federal prosecutors due to his extensive cooperation.

'

"Trump's role

Mehta expressed frustration with the lack of knowledge many Americans have about the Jan. 6 attack in general and reflected on the number of political leaders who were so willing to cast reality and the law aside and dismiss the results of a free and fair election.

"We've got one country," Mehta said, adding that unless people are willing to follow the law, to accept the election results, they might as well tear up the Constitution, the document that officials take an oath to protect and uphold.

"We do this on the theory that the truth is supposed to prevail, and in this case, it did," Mehta said.

But, he added, "none of us know precisely what will happen in the next few weeks."

It's long been clear that Trump would order the dismissal of the case against him if he's elected to the White House, but this week Trump made it even more explicit, saying he'd fire special counsel Jack Smith "within two seconds" if elected.

He's also promised to pardon an undefined number of Jan. 6 rioters, even as new arrests continue to roll in.

Trump has personally been charged with four federal criminal counts related to attempting to overturn the 2020 election results " conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty to all four.

The indictment returned against Trump in August alleges that Trump used an avalanche of "unsupported, objectively unreasonable, and ever-changing" claims of voter fraud that he knew to be false in a criminal conspiracy to overturn his election loss.

More arrests this week"

Arrested criminals and the crimes and punishment at the link.