♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, oath keepers charged. the anti-government militia's leader arrested on some of the most serious charges yet in connection to the january 6th attack on the capitol. sedition. >> it's the closest thing that you are going to get under the law to treason, to insurrection. >> what the fbi says encrypted messages reveal. and we examine the inner workings of the oath keepers through the eyes of a former insider. >> people were becoming more and more radicalized. i had to just turn and walk away. plus broadway's heroes. the understudies patiently waiting their turn. >> we're showing up and doing shows we haven't done in years. >> with omicron forcing outkast

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♪ thanks for joining us.

tonight, the leader of the oath keepers sits in jail on charges of sedition, the harshest indicts yet related to the attack on the capitol. prosecutors making the case that what happened on january 6th in the eyes of law enforcement was nothing short of a planned insurrection. a major escalation in the justice department's january 6th investigation, leveling its most serious charge yet. tonight, stewart rhodes, founder and leader of the extremist militia group the oath keepers, is behind bars. he and ten other alleged group members charged with seditious conspiracy, the first time that accusation has been connected to january 6th. >> sedition is such a big thing here because the government is alleging that force was used to basically overthrow the government or to usurp the government's authority. >> this isn't just charges of trespassing. like okay, people got a little caught up in the moment, they trespassed. premeditating your plan to overthrow the u.s. government,

to -- it's a form of trope. it is a form of terrorism. >> reporter: in a newly unsealed indictment, they're accused of conspiring to oppose by force the execution of the laws governing the transfer of presidential power from former president trump to president joe biden. the indictment accusing the defendants of organizing into teams, prepared and willing to use force, and to transport firearms and ammunition into washington, d.c. of recruiting members to participate. organizing trainings in paramilitary combat tactics. bringing supplies including knives, batons, camouflaged combat uniforms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, eye protection, and radio equipment to the capitol grounds. rhodes has been under investigation since last spring. if found guilty of seditious conspiracy, he could serve a maximum of 20 years in prison. >> it sends a signal to anybody that thinks that they're not happy with the way the

government is working, and so i'm going to use violent means to address my grievance? it says they will find you, and you will be held to account for that. >> reporter: the fbi's case built on accessing encrypted apps that the group allegedly used to secretly communicate with one another. according to the indictment, two days after the election, rhodes allegedly messaged followers. "we aren't getting through this without a civil war. to late for that, prepare your mind, body, spirits." days later writing, "we must now do what the people of serbia did when milosevic stole their election, refuse to accept and it march en masse to the capitol." doubling down on alex spears' radio show. >> we have men outside d.c. as a nuclear option. if they attempt to remove the president, we will step in and stop it. >> reporter: reaching a fever pitch when then president trump

held a rally blocks from the capitol demanding election results be overturned. >> we're going to walk down any one you want, but i think right here, we're going to walk down to the capitol. you'll never take back our country with weakness. you have to show strength, and you have to be strong. [ crowd chanting stop the steal ] >> reporter: demonstrators soon climbing the walls and scaffolding, violently confronting law enforcement. >> it was clear that the crowd was intent on causing harm to our officers. >> reporter: as the mob moved in, the entire capitol went into lockdown. law enforcement was no match for the sheer size of the invasion. officers forced to retreat. the indictment, including alleged eni didn't wanted messages between oath keepers from that afternoon, sent on the app signal, pence is doing

nothing as i predicted. all i see trump doing is complaining. i see no intent by him to do anything, so the patriots are taking it into their own hands, they've had enough. the indictment also claims rhodes stayed outside the capitol building while other members breached the rotunda doors inside, and they later headed towards the house of representatives in search of speaker pelosi before linking back up with rhodes and others outside. oath keepers reportedly claim to have been at the capitol as part of a security detail, and rhodes' attorney says the government's case is based on lies. rods previously told "the new york times" that he did express frustration that some of my guys went in, that those that breached the capitol had gone off mission, that there were zero instructions from me or leadership to do so. >> the oath keepers and a lot of these anti-government militia groups, they are careful not to call for violence. what they have said for the past decade, for longer than that, is

that people's rights are in danger, and they would have to stand up to sort of save their rights and protect america. >> he has moved more from a place of, we are going to be the protecters of our community in case of a bad day, to, the bad day is here, the civil war is happening, it is time to go and defend ourselves from the infringements that the federal government has made in our lives. >> reporter: 56-year-old stewart rhodes founded the oath keepers in 2009, a far-right anti-government militia group that focused on recruiting ex-military, former law enforcement officers, and first responders. >> he was in the army for a little bit. and then left the army. and went to yale law school. >> working for the former representative ron paul -- >> he lost his eye when he shot it out himself with a derringer. he's the type of person that will read six books at once, but at the same time, there's a lot

of common sense that he seems to be lacking. >> reporter: colorado artist and writer jason van tatenhov spent years working with rhodes for the oath keepers. you saw stewart rhodes up close and personal. what makes you so convinced he's guilty of these charges? >> stewart lived in my basement for several months towards the end of my tenure with the oath keepers. we spent a lot of time together, we got to know each other on a personal level. he spoke of things like this, what he would call a quick reaction force nearby that are more heavily armed. this is something that he's been doing as a leader of the oath keepers for quite a while. >> you saw the inner workings of the oath keepers. how dangerous was the organization? >> i think the biggest threat comes in their ideas. comes in their messaging. the real danger comes from kind of the lone wolf extremist set that are on the peripheral, that they're listening to alex jones, they're listening to stewart rhodes, taking it to heart. >> hey, guys.

oath keepers here -- jason tatum. >> reporter: jason was featured in the documentary "homegrown." >> i have to own it. i was swept up, i was excited. and i was wrong. and i do, i feel awful about it. i think i need a wider, pulled-out view to kind of understand things better. >> reporter: the ex-oath keeper spokesperson left the group in 2018, rejecting his old rhetoric as dangerous propaganda. >> i was an independent journalist at the time, reached out with a job offer. >> did you feel as though you were working with the oath keepers? or did you feel you were a member of the oath keepers? >> no, i was definitely always working for the oath keepers, but the lines kind of blurred. and i became in time a propagandist for the oath keepers. i started noticing, you know, that a lot of my stories were being heavily edited or just outright refused.

and, you know, that should have been my first warning sign. i should have probably just walked away then. >> what was your reaction to the charges of seditious conspiracy? >> it was bittersweet. there was a sense of relief, but you know, trepidation as well. because we've seen every time so far that these people are not held to account. so i have hope that, you know, with the largest case ever brought forwar by the department of justice, that we may see some real tangible results. but, you know, i'm not holding my breath. >> rhodes is set to appear in court tomorrow. up next, the show must go on. ♪ how the unsung heroes of broadway are saving the great white way. ♪ people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus®

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♪ we all know the pandemic hasn't been kind to broadway. and with omicron surging, many shows are turning to a new kind of frontline hero toeep the lights heunderstu abc's geo ben. >> my husband and i, i live in chicago now. we were in the car and my husband goes, hey, you've got a text message on your phone from someone at "wicked." they want to know what you're doing this week. >> reporter: the show must go on. it's a longtime broadway mantra. but with omicron spreading and

performers sidelined, theaters are struggling to stay open, and they're calling in the cavalry. >> i never rehearsed with the main cast of the show. i never tried on my costume before. i'd never put on a microphone before. ♪ >> reporter: now entering stage right, understudies. >> you realize suddenly you're used to eating potato chips in the dressing room, now you're going on stage with all these incredible actors. >> i got into my companies actual, my mic, my wig, and there was time to have a freakout. can you blame me? i've made my broadway debut with two hours' notice. >> it was like dusting off a really, really rusty piece of equipment. >> i love broadway. i think there's somethin really magical right now about keeping the lights on, right? >> reporter: they're the unseen engine of show business, learning multiple roles, making call times with just a few hours' notice.

"the music man" star tested positive during previews. her understudy, kathy voico, answered the call. hugh jackman thanking kathy for saving the show. >> the understudies have not had a chance to learn, they watch from the corner of the room, they just get to watch and write notes. then five hours before they're told, you're on. >> reporter: jackman testing positive himself, though still in good spirits. >> i can't say how good this moment feels. yes, we're back! to be back, to bring this show which is just pure joy, full of hope and belief and faith back to broadway. >> broadway is open! please come see us. keep our shows open. we love doing what we do, and we love that we're able to share it with people. >> reporter: nearly two years ago, the curtains were forced to close. an industry that brought in 10 million tourists a year shut

down. now with the stage lights finally back up, the musical "wicked" needed a fill-in for the role of elfaba. they called in a former pro, karla stickler, an understudy. >> i work for a company in chicago as a software engineer. i was tired and i wanted to do something that was really stable. i was like, i've never had a normal life, i wonder what that looks like? >> what's amazing is that it was seven years since you last did this. >> yeah. >> and you were able to just like, boom, step right into it. >> i feel like i have kind of a duty to the business, you know? it's bigger than me and i really want to go and help out as much as i can. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: stepping back into those black boots and green makeup without missing a note. you weren't nervous at all? >> i mean, i was excited.

i had -- i get like a rush of adrenaline. and i love that. >> so this elfaba for you and your sort of next act is a different elfaba than seven years ago? >> oh, boy, yeah. she's way more grounded. she's had a lot of stuff to go through the past few years. >> do you have a favorite line? >> the lines in "defying gravity" i think are really powerful. i'm through accepting limits because someone said they're so. >> that's you, isn't it? >> yeah. ♪ defying gravity ♪ >> i get choked up thinking about it but it's true. as an actor, there's so much out of control in your life. so for me to kind of step away and feel like i'm taking my power back. >> appreciate you. >> reporter: reynaldo piniella made his brow way debut in "trouble in mind" when a principal actor came down with

covid. >> let me tell you about them character parts. oh, miss wentworth, i'm so distressed, i don't know what to do. >> i get a call ten minutes before curtain of our matinee saying they need me to go on in "trouble in mind." i rush over, make my broadway debut. i'm living in that euphoria. >> what was your heart doing? >> my heart was pumping through my chest. i felt like one of the looney tune characters, it was going to crazy. >> you trusted yourself? >> i did. i will say, that first show is a blur. my curtain call, i burst out crying spontaneously. because lesean, our lead actress, pulled me up and gave me a solo bow. >> reporter: weeks earlier reynaldo was also understudy for "thoughts of a colored man" which was forced to close when they didn't have enough understudies to fill in for a massive covid outbreak. which he says is an institutional issue. >> i feel so nervous about the future of broadway, because i feel like producers are going to start being more cautious about how they spend their money.

>> reporter: alongside piniella, costar victoria oliver also making her debut. >> it felt like a dream, almost. looking over, seeing tony winners, these people who are so unbelievably talented. and i'm up there with them. >> i called my family to tell them what was going on, you better believe my mom and sister jumped on a plane from north carolina and made to it the theater by intermission with their lug average. >> reporter: three blocks away the hit musical "come from away" was also struggling to fill cast, but understudy holly ann butler was ready. >> the company got hit with an outbreak of covid. and there were eight cast members out of a 12-person cast. so we were all just like, we're here, we're going to do it! ♪ this weird quirk i've tried to suppress or hide ♪ ♪ is a talent that could help me meet the wizard ♪ >> reporter: these lesser-known performers brimming with talent, now broadway's unsung heroes.

>> i hope that when people now open that playbill and see that slip they go, oh, yes. >> i think it's totally okay that we can say, you know, go to your sister's wedding, we have an understudy who's an amazing performer and we know they can do the job. that's the broadway and the theater industry we need to see, where we're not just valuing people's artistry but their humani humanity. >> shows we haven't done in years, we're figuring it out, but everyone on stage had my back. >> we're going to rally around this moment and make the show go on together. >> it's a community? >> it's a community. ♪ no good deed ♪ ♪ >> our thanks to gio. up next, one man's creative way to make his family's dreams come true. you are an electric vehicle.

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♪ finally tonight, lauren and e.j. nguyen have desperately wanted a baby for years. and it's been a very difficult road.

after eight miscarriages, ivf seemed to be their only hope. but that came with a hefty price tag. so e.j. made a decision without first telling his wife, to help pay for ivf by selling his precious sneaker collection. >> the sneaker community was like, man, you sold your whole collection? having a child was way more important than any shoe. >> it's positive. i am pregnant. >> lauren is now 17 weeks pregnant. now for the gender reveal. that's "nightline." see you right back