WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the seditious conspiracy case against members of the Oath Keepers said Wednesday that it would be “scary” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, was found guilty of orchestrating a violent conspiracy to preserve the Oath Keepers would be pardoned by Donald Trump at the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to pardon rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him and other Oath Keepers members of seditious conspiracy. The most serious accusation goes back to the attack by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon when he sentenced William Todd Wilson, a former member of the Oath Keepers from North Carolina who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.

“The idea that Stewart Rhodes could be exonerated of his actions is frightening and should frighten everyone who cares about democracy in this country,” Mehta said.

Mehta is not the first federal court judge in Washington, D.C., to criticize the possibility that Trump might pardon hundreds of Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next month. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, said during a hearing last month that it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if the Republican president-elect were to grant a blanket pardon to the Capitol rioters.

In this year’s campaign trial, Trump repeatedly referred to the Jan. 6 rioters as “hostages” and “patriots” and said he would “absolutely” pardon rioters who attacked police “if they are innocent.” Trump has also indicated he would consider pardoning former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a separate plot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden .

More than 20 judges have presided over more than 1,500 trials of people charged in the Jan. 6 riots. Many Capitol insurrection defendants have asked for their trials to be delayed after the election, but judges have largely rejected their requests and pushed forward verdicts, guilty pleas and other hearings.

Wilson, 48, of Newton Grove, North Carolina, was one of several Oath Keepers who cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation into the far-right group – one of the most consequential prosecutions stemming from the Jan. 6 siege.

Mehta sentenced Wilson to one year of house arrest and three years of probation instead of prison. Prosecutors had recommended a one-year sentence for Wilson, a U.S. Army veteran and former firefighter.

The judge praised Wilson’s courage in admitting his guilt when many of his co-conspirators did not.

“Correcting the history books came at a heavy cost to you,” Mehta told Wilson, who lost his military benefits after pleading guilty in May 2022.

Rhodes and his followers stockpiled weapons and set up “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel that could transport weapons to the nation’s capital if necessary to support their plot. The weapons remained at the hotel, but Mehta said it was frightening to imagine that “a single order from a madman” could have resulted in weapons being used during a riot.

“Just saying those words out loud should be shocking to anyone,” the judge added.

Wilson did not testify at any of the trials of the Oath Keepers leaders, members and associates charged in the Jan. 6 attack. Prosecutors said he damaged his credibility by giving contradictory statements to investigators about his criminal behavior.

“What we want to hear from witnesses is the truth, unvarnished and without any attempt to curry favor with the government,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy.

Wilson expressed remorse and shame for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

“I’ve lost a lot of things since then,” he said. “The psychological strain this placed on me was almost unbearable.”