WASHINGTON — The conviction of the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia this week placed a president at the spiritual heart of a seditious conspiracy to illegitimately keep power in a way that is unparalleled in American history.

The guilty verdict against Stewart Rhodes, the head of the militia, and one of his subordinates effectively established that there was an illegal plot to keep President Donald J. Trump in power despite his defeat in the 2020 election, whether Mr. Trump was directly involved or simply inspired it through the lies he spread.

The unanswered question remains what, if any, responsibility Mr. Trump had for the conspiracy, an issue to be addressed by Jack Smith, the newly appointed special counsel investigating the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the events that led to it. But if nothing else, the trial made clear that this was more than a peaceful protest that simply got out of hand.

It also underscored how much the former president has aligned himself with forces that used to be outside the mainstream of American politics as he seeks to reclaim his office through a rematch with President Biden in 2024. With the Justice Department targeting Mr. Trump, his antigovernment jeremiads lately sound like those once relegated to the outer edges of the political spectrum.

His use of music sounding like a QAnon theme song at recent rallies and his dinner last week with Kanye West, a rap star under fire for...

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