Arizonan found guilty of seditious conspiracy for role in Jan. 6 riot

Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect reference to Ron Paul's political affiliation in 2008.

A jury found a 63-year-old Army veteran from Phoenix guilty of seditious conspiracy on Monday for his part in planning and executing the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Edward Vallejo was tried alongside three members of the militia group Oath Keepers, who jurors also found guilty.

Prosecutors contended that Vallejo coordinated an arsenal of weapons, ammunition and supplies at a Comfort Inn in northern Virginia awaiting orders to mobilize.

Prosecutors said that the group expected then-President Donald Trump to declare martial law and that Vallejo was one of three so-called “quick reaction force teams” stationed at the hotel.

“Vallejo back at hotel and outfitted," Vallejo messaged to other Oath Keepers at 2:24 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court records. "Have 2 trucks available. Let me know how I can assist."

Vallejo divided his time between Phoenix and a homestead in the northern Arizona city of Winslow.

He had been involved in Libertarian politics. A Republic photographer captured an image of him watching 2008 election results come in while sitting on a plastic chair in the headquarters for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

But Vallejo became a supporter of Trump in the 2016 election, according to social media posts and Republic interviews with friends and associates. He had not abandoned the Libertarian Party but seemed motivated in keeping Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton out of the White House.

“I'd rather see a blind, left-handed monkey be president than Hillary Clinton,” friends quoted him often saying.