An attorney for the Latinos for Trump political group will plead guilty to her part in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents.
Kellye SoRelle, who was general counsel to the right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers, reached a plea agreement with federal authorities. She has been a prominent figure among supporters of former President Donald Trump and has offered free legal advice to various groups.
Federal prosecutor Matthew Graves announced the deal in a court filing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Graves did not reveal the nature of the deal and wrote that it would be submitted to the judge separately. He suggested that the court continue with a status hearing on Wednesday.
SoRelle faced four charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding. She was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly telling other January 6 protesters to delete information from their phones.
SoRelle is a close ally of former Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, and the two were photographed together in front of the Capitol on January 6.
At a September 2022 hearing, prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler asked Judge Amit Mehta to restrict SoRelle's internet access as she had been posting about the case online and was alleged to have told others to delete evidence.
"Ms. SoRelle has already posted memes," Nestler told the court, pointing out that one of the memes was about Mehta.
However, Mehta said that alone was not enough to restrict SoRelle's internet access.
SoRelle is a former Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives. She served as counsel for Latinos for Trump and Blacks for Trump.
After Rhodes was jailed for alleged sedition, SoRelle told Rolling Stone magazine in an email: "I am currently acting as President of Oath Keepers in lieu of Mr. Rhodes until he is released. He is not guilty of any of the outlandish charges and the organization stands with Mr. Rhodes."
She defended Rhodes to The Wall Street Journal when it published an article about his alleged misuse of Oath Keeper funds. The Journal claimed the group's bookkeeper found that Rhodes had used the group's credit card to buy everything from guns to groceries. SoRelle told the Journal that the guns were used for the group's advertising and the groceries were for Oath Keeper members in Virginia.
She said the allegations were coming from "disgruntled people that have a bone to pick," and that the allegations were "petty, stupid and salacious."
Update 7/9/24, 10:21 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional information.
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Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
