HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the
US Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In November 2022, Rhodes and another leader of the organization were convicted of
seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...
for their actions around the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
. Along with three other leaders, they were also convicted of
obstruction Obstruction may refer to: Places * Obstruction Island, in Washington state * Obstruction Islands, east of New Guinea Medicine * Obstructive jaundice * Obstructive sleep apnea * Airway obstruction, a respiratory problem ** Recurrent airway o ...
and other felonies. The group encourages its members to disobey orders which they believe would violate the U.S. Constitution. Research on their membership determined that two-thirds of the Oath Keepers are former
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
or
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
, and one tenth are active duty military or law enforcement. Most research determined the Oath Keeper membership to be approximately 5,000 members, while leaked data showed Oath Keepers' rosters claiming membership of 38,000. Several organizations that monitor U.S. domestic terrorism and
hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...
s describe the Oath Keepers as a far-right extremist or radical group. In 2015,
Mark Pitcavage Mark Pitcavage is a historian and analyst of far-right wing groups. He works with the Anti-Defamation League and was the creator of the now-archived Militia Watchdog website. The site has been an archive since 2000 when Pitcavage took the position ...
of the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
(ADL) described the group as "heavily armed extremists with a conspiratorial and anti-government mindset looking for potential showdowns with the government". According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
(SPLC), the group's leadership has ties to antigovernment, extremist groups and espouses a number of conspiracy and legal theories associated with the
sovereign citizen movement The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose grouping of litigants, activists, tax protesters, financial scheme promoters and conspiracy theorists, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpret ...
and
posse comitatus The ''posse comitatus'' (from the Latin for "power of the county/community/guard"), frequently shortened to posse, is in common law a group of people mobilized by the conservator of peace – typically a reeve, sheriff, chief, or another speci ...
movement, chiefly, that sheriffs are the highest law enforcement authorities in the United States. Former SPLC senior fellow Mark Potok describes the group as "an anti-government group who believe in a wild set of conspiracy theories". The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
describes the Oath Keepers as a "
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
organization" and a "large but loosely organized collection of militia who believe that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights." Some researchers have suggested the Oath Keepers' organizing principle is as a "profit-maximizing firm", rather than the hierarchical and close-knit "club" structure that many other groups in these categories show. Oath Keepers were present wearing
military fatigues A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual wear, casual type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purpo ...
during the 2014 and 2015 unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, when members armed with
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
s roamed streets and rooftops. Members of the group participated in the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
. By September 2021, twenty members had been indicted for federal crimes, with four pleading guilty. The organization was subpoenaed by the
House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (the January 6th Committee) is a bipartisan select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives established to investigate the U.S. ...
in November 2021. Eleven members of the organization, including its founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, were indicted for
seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...
in January 2022. By late April 2022, 2 of those 11 indicted Oath Keepers had pled guilty to seditious conspiracy, and another member who had not been named in the initial indictment pled guilty to the same charges on May 4, 2022. A jury found Rhodes and one co-defendant guilty of seditious conspiracy on November 29, 2022, bringing the total number of Oath Keepers convicted of this charge to 5, with 4 more still facing trial.


Organizational history

The Oath Keepers has been identified as one of the "largest and most prominent organizations of the militia/patriot movement." Oath Keepers was founded in March 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
graduate, former
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
, and former staffer for
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
. The SPLC lists Rhodes as a known extremist. Under Rhodes's leadership in 2013, they instructed its members to form "Citizen Preservation" teams, which included militias, to operate in communities across the country meant to defend Americans against the government intentionally letting the country descend into chaos then declaring martial law and scrapping the constitution, stating that "They are preparing to control and contain us, and to shoot us, but not preparing to feed us." On December 8, 2015, Rhodes was disbarred by the
Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...
for conduct violating the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct after refusing to respond to two bar grievances filed against him in the federal district court in Arizona. Rhodes is reported to have taken inspiration from the notion that
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
could have been stopped if German soldiers and police had refused to follow orders. Writing in ''S.W.A.T. Magazine'' in 2008, Rhodes asserts, "'It' (a full-blown totalitarian police state) cannot happen here if the majority of police and soldiers obey their oaths to defend the Constitution and refuse to enforce the unconstitutional edicts of the 'Leader'." Some researchers have observed that the organization appears to be essentially profit-seeking in nature, regardless of the precise ideological positions it takes, which have varied in their specifics over the years. Former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers, Jason Van Tatenhove, has said of Stewart Rhodes and the Oath Keepers organization:
hodes Hodes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Art Hodes (1904–1993), American jazz pianist *Charlie Hodes (1848–1875), American baseball player *Charlotte Hodes (born 1959), English artist * Henry I. Hodes (1899–1962), United ...
knows that he can tap into this and make money off of it, and continue to uildhis own personal army yweaving these narratives and telling these stories and planting these seeds.
Other people close to Rhodes have also described profit as being the animating force of the organization, and his own children describe the Oath Keepers as a "grift."
Sedona Adams: ... Everything ran on donations. Sometimes e’dbe on the phone saying, “Oh, well I need money. We need to create an emergency.” And so they’d find something. That’s why they started doing disaster relief. It had had nothing to do with anything that they were set out to do, but they went into disaster relief because they had nothing else to do. They were like, “Oh, let’s do some kind of a charity thing and make some money.” Dakota Adams: Anything that they could put up a GoFundMe for – anything that gets a GoFundMe link in front of the mailing list.
In an October 2020 interview, reporter Mike Giglio of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' stated that in the preceding years, the Oath Keepers regarded
President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
as "someone in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
that they fully support", in contrast to their skepticism of previous Republican administrations. He also said that in recent years Rhodes's statements had become more "radical" and that because of this some members of the group with military experience, concerned by the possibility of the types of violence they had witnessed overseas occurring in the United States, left the group.


Nonprofit tax status

In 2009, Oath Keepers was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in Nevada, but there is no record of it receiving tax-exempt status from the IRS, making any donations to the organization non-tax deductible. The IRS has recognized at least seven local chapters affiliated with the Oath Keepers as tax-exempt organizations. Chapters in Virginia, Indiana, and Pennsylvania received tax-exempt status between 2016 to 2018. The Southern Nevada Oath Keepers and Oath Keepers of Josephine County were also granted tax-exempt status. In 2019, the IRS granted tax-exempt status to the Louisiana based Oath Keepers Educational Foundation, whose stated purpose on filings is to "give veterans an opportunity for continued involvement in community service." Days before the January 6th United States Capitol attack, Oath Keepers' founder Stewart Rhodes appeared on a podcast and solicited charitable donations to the Oath Keepers Educational Foundation. Following a joint report from ISD and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) on the funding operations of hate groups, an expert at the GDI submitted in their February 25, 2021, statement before the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy of the Committee on Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives said:
It can only be presumed that these funds, which listeners were notably able to deduct from their Federal taxes, went to transporting and lodging members of the group slated to participate in the ensuing riots.


Membership

The organization states that full membership is open to "currently serving military, reserves,
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
, police, fire-fighters, other first responders (i.e. State Guard, Sheriff Posse/Auxiliary, Search & Rescue, EMT, other medical 1st responders, etc.) AND veterans/former members of those services," and that others who support the organization's mission can become associate members. There is however an annual membership fee that all members must pay, and researchers have observed that the organization will accept essentially any member who pays this fee. Oath Keepers claimed 35,000 members in 2016, though researchers estimated the figure was about 5,000. In 2020, the ADL estimated there were between 1,000 and 3,000 members but said the group's influence extends well beyond that figure. In September 2021, hackers breached the group's servers to acquire a large cache of information, some of which was released to press outlets by
Distributed Denial of Secrets Distributed Denial of Secrets, abbreviated DDoSecrets, is a non-profit whistleblower site for news leaks founded in 2018. Sometimes referred to as a successor to WikiLeaks, it is best known for its June 2020 publication of a large collection of ...
, including the contact information of 38,000 apparent members. The cache included membership applications from active law enforcement officers, including some who sought to join after the
2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
. Dozens of elected officials were also found to be linked to the group. A September 2022 report by the ADL said that, of 38,000 names on the Oath Keepers membership list, over 370 appear to be current employees in law enforcement agencies and over 100 are current military personnel.


Prominent members


= Elmer Stewart Rhodes

= Rhodes is the leader of the Oath Keepers and was convicted of
seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...
and evidence tampering with regards to the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
, as of November 29, 2022.


=Kellye SoRelle

= SoRelle, from Granville, Texas, general attorney for the Oath Keepers and close associate of Stewart Rhodes, has claimed to be the temporary leader of the Oath Keepers while founder Rhodes is in jail pending trial. SoRelle is charged with tampering with documents for destroying and hiding potential evidence into the criminal investigation of the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
, entering Capitol grounds, and obstruction of an official proceeding.


= Charles A. Dyer

= Dyer is a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who operated as a prominent advocate for the Oath Keepers, maintaining a popular
YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...
and acting as a representative at Tea Party rallies. Known online as "July4Patriot," he made his anti-government videos during the administration of
President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. As the criminal case against him developed he continued to make videos claiming that he was being targeted by law enforcement for his role as a "patriot." He was charged in 2010 with
child rape Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whethe ...
and illegal weapons possession. Dyer evaded authorities and a search ensued, followed by his capture ten days later. In 2012, he was convicted of raping his seven-year-old daughter. The Oath Keepers severed ties with Dyer after his conviction, and later denied a relationship with him.


=

Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...

= Mack is a former sheriff of
Graham County, Arizona Graham County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,533, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford. Graham County composes the ...
and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the U.S. federal government which alleged that portions of the
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act ( Pub.L. 103–159, 107 Stat. 1536, enacted November 30, 1993), often referred to as the Brady Act or the Brady Bill, is an Act of the United States Congress that mandated federal background checks on ...
violated the
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
. He is a former
lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
for
Gun Owners of America Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consi ...
and a two-time candidate for
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
. Mack is also the founder of
Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of local police officials in the United States who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of county ...
(CSPOA), and established the "County Sheriff Project" movement, both of whom reaffirm what they claim is the constitutional power to refuse to enforce federal laws. He is an Oath Keepers Board Member.


= Wendy Rogers

= Rogers is a state senator in Arizona, first elected in 2020. After members of Oath Keepers had been indicted for their alleged participation in the January 6 Capitol attack, Rogers stated on Twitter, "I am a member of the Oathkeepers and I really like their dedication to our Constitution and to our country," including a photo of her speaking to the
Cottonwood, Arizona Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 11,265. Geography Cottonwood is located at (34.7321, -112.0186). According to the United States Census Bureau, the c ...
, chapter of the organization.


=

Kelly Meggs Kelly Meggs (born January 15, 1969) is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 Uni ...

= Meggs lead the Florida chapter and was led the "infamous 'stack' formation of Oath Keepers inside the Capitol" before entering Nancy Pelosi’s office during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He was found guilty of
seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...
at the same trial as Stewart Rhodes in November 2022.


Participation in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack

Three suspected members of Oath Keepers were federally indicted in January for conspiracy for planning their activities during the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol with six more being added to the indictment in February. Eight to ten members of the group entered the Capitol wearing paramilitary gear, moving "in an organized and practiced fashion," according to the indictment. The group communicated with portable devices, with Watkins messaging to others, "We have a good group. We have about 30–40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to the plan." Prosecutors alleged one member sent a text message to a member of the anti-government
Three Percenters The Three Percenters, also styled 3 Percenters, 3%ers and III%ers, are an American and Canadian far-right anti-government militia. The group advocates gun ownership rights and resistance to the U.S. federal government. The group's name d ...
group days before the incursion, suggesting using a boat to ferry a "Quick Response Team" and heavy weapons across the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
to other members already in the Capitol. Federal prosecutors were considering whether to pursue charges under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...
, which is typically used to prosecute organized crime syndicates. During the second impeachment trial of former President Trump, House impeachment managers presented an allegation that members of the Oath Keepers participated in efforts to interfere with the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
by discussing "a brazen plan to ferry 'heavy weapons' in a boat across the Potomac River into Washington and began training sessions 'for urban warfare, riot control and rescue operations' well before Election Day." Impeachment managers also said that an Oath Keeper member noted that they were "'awaiting direction' from Mr. Trump about how to handle the results of the vote in the days that followed the election," and that another alleged member, Jessica M. Watkins, wrote a text message saying, " Trump asks me to come, I will." Prosecutors claimed in a March 2021 court filing that the group's founder and leader Stewart Rhodes was in contact with participants before, during and after the assault. Prosecutors said they recovered encrypted chat messages showing that "individuals, including those alleged to have conspired with thers were actively planning to use force and violence." Under the title "DC OP: Jan 6 21," Rhodes stated in the chats that "quick reaction forces" outside Washington would be ready to respond if necessary and during the assault he directed members to rally on the southeast steps of the Capitol, from where they forcibly entered the building in a military-style "stack" formation. Thomas Caldwell, who was present during the incident, was jailed on conspiracy charges days after the attack, though in March 2021 federal judge Amit Mehta released him to home confinement pending trial, finding there was no evidence he entered the Capitol or planned to. The FBI claimed that during the incursion Caldwell sent and received Facebook messages with "known and unknown Oath Keepers members," including sending the word "Inside," which received responses including, "All members are in the tunnels under capital seal them in. Turn on gas." Caldwell also allegedly received directions in navigating the Capitol, including "Tom all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3floors down" and "Go through back house chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps." Citing private Facebook messages, prosecutors stated in a March 2021 court filing that during the weeks preceding the attack, Meggs had contacted
Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...
who he said could serve as a "force multiplier" and that he had "organized an alliance" among the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the Florida chapter of the Three Percenters. In a June 2021 court filing arguing that a federal magistrate was wrong to release Oath Keeper member Jason Nolan from custody prior to his trial, prosecutors presented evidence he had stashed weapons in a Virginia hotel to arm a quick reaction force under the scenario described by Caldwell where Trump "calls us up as part of the militia to assist him inside DC." Nolan had been released after the magistrate ruled prosecutors had not established it was him who gave an anonymous interview to '' The Gateway Pundit'' the previous month describing his activities on January 6, but prosecutors presented evidence in their brief to assert it was Nolan. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported in June 2021 that since the attack on the Capitol the Oath Keepers was splintering amid "a cash squeeze, internal discord, social-media cutoff and isolation from the financial system." Four members of the group—two from Florida, one from Indiana, and one from Alabama—have pleaded guilty to federal criminal changes arising from their roles in the attack on the Capitol; the four are cooperating with federal authorities. On November 23, 2021, Stewart Rhodes and the Nevada-incorporated Oath Keepers entity were subpoenaed by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. The committee's belief was that members of the organization have information about the preparations of the event, and what led to the ensuing violence. CNN reported in May 2022 that top leaders of the group had been interviewed by the FBI and providing phones and digital files detailing how they had communicated with people in Trump's orbit. Investigators obtained encrypted messages with high-profile, right-wing political organizers. Rhodes had called an unnamed person on the evening of the attack, asking to speak directly to the president, urging the person on the phone to tell Trump he should call on groups like Oath Keepers to "forcefully oppose the transfer of power."


Seditious conspiracy charges

Twelve Oath Keepers have been charged with
seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...
. Eleven were charged together in January 2022. William Todd Wilson was charged separately. Three pled guilty: *William Todd Wilson of Newton Grove, North Carolina, leader of the North Carolina Oath Keepers, pled guilty on May 4, 2022, to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. *Joshua James, of Arab, Alabama, head of the Alabama chapter, provided security for right-wing figures such as
Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
on January 6. In March 2022, he pled guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of official proceedings, and he agreed to cooperate with the government. *Brian Ulrich from Guyton, Georgia, pled guilty on April 29, 2022 to sedition conspiracy and obstruction. The remaining nine pled not guilty. Two trials were planned for them. On July 29, 2022, Justice Department prosecutors wrote in a court filing, " ..no government agent possessed actual authority to order the defendants' criminal actions, and, in any event, it would have been objectively unreasonable to rely on any such order." Thus, they asked the judge to prohibit the defense argument that the Oath Keepers were following President Trump's orders.


Trial of Rhodes, Meggs, Harrelson, Watkins, and Caldwell

On September 27, 2022, jury selection began. Each defendant faced up to 20 years in federal prison. The five on trial were: *
Stewart Rhodes Elmer Stewart Rhodes III (born 1966) is a disbarred American lawyer and the founder of the Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia. In November 2022, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering with regard ...
(R) founder of the Oath Keepers, has been charged with seditious conspiracy for forcibly resisting the peaceful transfer of power. On January 6, Rhodes urged Trump to fight to stay in power, and suggested the Oath Keepers, acting as militia, would support him if he invoked the Insurrection Act. Rhodes was convicted on the charge of seditious conspiracy. *
Kelly Meggs Kelly Meggs (born January 15, 1969) is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 Uni ...
(R) founder of the Florida Oath Keepers from Dunnellon, Florida and husband to Oath Keeper Connie Meggs. See below. *Kenneth Harrelson (R) Oath Keeper from Titusville, Florida was part of military stack formation and dressed in tactical gear, breached the capitol building. He has been indicted for seditious conspiracy. *Jessica Watkins (R) Oath Keeper from Woodstock, Ohio was charged with conspiracy, obstruction, and sedition for her role in the military stack formation that broke into the capitol yelling "They can't hold us." *Thomas Caldwell (R) Oath Keeper from Berryville, Virginia, former Navy Lt. Commander who held a top-secret security clearance for decades and previously worked for the FBI. Three former members testified against them: *Graydon Young, Oath Keeper from Florida, *Jason Dolan, Oath Keeper from Florida *Laura Steele, Oath Keeper from North Carolina who is awaiting trial and is sister to Graydon Young. When Rhodes testified in November, he claimed he'd intended only to convince Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and that the Oath Keepers had gone to Washington to provide security for key Republican figures. He said the Oath Keepers had not planned to breach the Capitol nor to cause violence. On November 29, 2022, Rhodes and Meggs were found guilty of seditious conspiracy; the other three were acquitted of the same charge. All five were found guilty of
obstructing an official proceeding Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 as a reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be ...
and aiding and abetting that action.


Trial of Minuta, Hackett, Moerschel, and Vallejo

Roberto Minuta, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel, and Edward Vallejo will stand trial together.


Trial of Connie Meggs

Connie Meggs, an Oath Keeper from Dunnellon, Florida, and wife of Kelly Meggs, was charged with conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, aiding and abetting obstruction, conspiracy, and entering restricted grounds. Her trial was moved to early 2023.


Other antigovernment activities


Federal land disputes


Bundy Ranch standoff, 2014

In 2014, armed Oath Keepers were present at the Bundy Ranch standoff, after agents of the
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
(BLM) seized cattle from a rancher who was illegally grazing stock on federal land in
Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, across ...
.


Sugar Pine Mine standoff, 2015

In 2015, armed Oath Keepers in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
attended two disputes between gold miners and federal authorities. In April they gathered in
Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...
, at the request of the owners of the Sugar Pine Mine near Galice, after the owners were ordered to stop working the mine by the Bureau of Land Management. In August, they patrolled the White Hope Mine in the
Helena National Forest Helena National Forest is located in west-central Montana, in the United States. Covering , the forest is broken into several separate sections. The eastern regions are dominated by the Big Belt Mountains, and are the location of the Gates of the ...
, about 20 miles from
Lincoln, Montana Lincoln is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,013. History Meriwether Lewis passed through the area on his return to St. L ...
; the
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
said the miners had engaged in illegal construction and tree-felling.


Crissy Field, 2017

In August 2017 a permit was issued by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
for the August 26th use of
Crissy Field Crissy Field is a public recreation area on the northern shore of the San Francisco Peninsula in California, United States, located just east of the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes restored tidal marsh and beaches. Crissy Field is a former Un ...
to hold a rally by a group calling itself '
Patriot Prayer Patriot Prayer is a far-right group founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city in the Portland metropolitan area. Since 2016, the group has organized several dozen pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies held in libe ...
'. The group's spokesman, Joey Gibson, announced that the Oath Keepers would be providing event security, confirmed to the ''
San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...
'' on August 18 by Stewart Rhodes.


Anti-Hillary Clinton threats, 2016

An article posted to the organization's official website on April 14, 2016, stated that if
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
won the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, "the result would probably be outright civil war in the U.S." Later in 2016, Stewart Rhodes called on members to visit polling places incognito to "hunt down" and document suspected
voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
.


Threat of violence towards Oregon State Capitol, 2019

In June 2019, Oregon Governor
Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...
sent the
Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Terri Davie has served as Superintendent since November 1, 2020. The ...
to bring 11 absent Republican state senators back to the State Capitol. The Republican state senators had gone into hiding to prevent a vote on a cap-and-trade proposal aimed at lowering
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
by 2050 in order to combat climate change. The Oath Keepers reacted on June 20, 2019, by stating: "Gov. Brown, you want a
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, because this is how you get a civil war". On June 22, 2019, a session of the Oregon Senate was canceled when the State Capitol was closed due to a warning from the Oregon state police of a "possible militia threat".


Other armed protest activities


Military recruitment center presence, 2015

Following the
2015 Chattanooga shootings On July 16, 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on two Military base, military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He first committed a drive-by shooting at a Military recruitment, recruiting center, then traveled to a United State ...
at a
strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
military recruitment Military recruitment refers to the activity of attracting people to, and selecting them for, military training and employment. Demographics Gender Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and non-state armed ...
center and a naval operational support center in Tennessee, Oath Keepers and other militia groups began organizing armed gatherings outside of recruiting centers in several states, with the stated objective of providing protection to service members, who were barred from carrying weapons while on duty in civilian recruitment centers. In response, the Army Command Operations Center Security Division issued a letter ordering soldiers not to interact with or acknowledge armed civilians outside of recruitment centers, and that "If questioned by these alleged concerned citizens, be polite, professional and terminate the conversation immediately and report the incident to local law enforcement," noting that the issuing officer is "sure the citizens mean well, but we cannot assume this in every case and we do not want to advocate this behavior."


Kim Davis refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, 2015

Kim Davis is a former
county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
for
Rowan County, Kentucky Rowan County (, ) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky, in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,662. Its county seat is Morehead. The county was created in 18 ...
, who gained international attention in August 2015 when she defied a U.S. federal court order to issue marriage licenses to
same-sex couple A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...
s. On September 10, 2015, the Oath Keepers announced that they would travel to Rowan County, to prevent her arrest and jailing should she be held in contempt a second time for violating a court order prohibiting her from interfering with marriage licensing in her office. The group aimed to block enforcement of
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
rulings against Davis, and said, "If the sheriff, who should be interceding, is not going to do his job and the governor is not going to do the governor's job of interceding, then we'll do it." The Oath Keepers also criticized the judge in the case, David Bunning, saying "this judge needs to be put on notice that his behavior is not going to be accepted and we'll be there to stop it and intercede ourselves if we have to." The following day, members were advised that Davis's legal team, acting on her behalf, had declined their offer to provide her a "security detail." The Oath Keepers issued a statement saying that while members were still welcome to visit Rowan County, it would only be unofficial.


Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, 2018

In February 2018, soon after the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
in
Parkland, Florida Parkland is a suburban city, 42 miles northwest of Miami, in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166 ...
, Oath Keepers founder Rhodes publicly called upon "tens of thousands" of the group's members to form militias to protect US schools and colleges. He posted on the Oath Keepers' website in what he termed a National Call to Action: "Oath Keepers, in the wake of the horrific attack … it is time to step up nationwide and defend our schools against the threat of mass murder. Enough is enough".


Policies, statements and actions on race and religion

The Oath Keepers' bylaws state that, "No person who advocates, or has been or is a member, or associated with, any organization, formal or informal, that advocates discrimination, violence, or hatred toward any person based upon their race, nationality, creed, or color, shall be entitled to be a member or associate member." Founder Stewart Rhodes, who has said he is one-quarter Mexican, has disavowed racism and white supremacist ideology on his blog. He has likened the far-right extremist
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February ...
to the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
in the United States, saying, " Ammon Bundy's occupation of an empty building is essentially the same as civil-disobedience sit-ins that the political left has engaged in for decades, from anti-war and civil rights protesters in the 60s and 70s." Board member
Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...
has said that despite the contributing role of southern U.S. sheriffs in preserving
White supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
, "constitutional sheriffs" could have protected civil rights icon
Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...
. In 2015, the Oathkeepers website republished an opinion piece by Brandon Smith claiming that, " ..here is no such thing as white privilege or male privilege: In reality, there is only institutionalized 'privilege' for victim-status groups. There is no privilege for whites, males, white males or straight white males. ... People should not feel guilty for being born the way they are, and this includes us 'white male devils.'" On June 10, 2017, the Oath Keepers participated in providing security in a "March Against Sharia," which were rallies coordinated by
ACT for America ACT for America, founded in 2007, is a U.S.-based anti-Muslim advocacy group that opposes what it calls "the threat of radical Islam" to Americans. Critics of the group, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for American Pr ...
.


Opposition to Black Lives Matter and antifa

In late November 2014, during the unrest in Ferguson, the Oath Keepers put out a national request to its members to help in the city after the grand jury decision was released in the case of the
shooting of Michael Brown On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson, who later stated that Brow ...
. About the perceived failure of the government's response to the unrest, the organization's founder, Stewart Rhodes, told the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', "We thought they were going to do it right this time, but when Monday rolled around and they didn't park the National Guard at these businesses, that's when we said we have got to do something." On December 2, 2014, volunteer security guards associated with the Oath Keepers kept armed watch on Ferguson rooftops, ignoring a police order to stop. In August 2015, four members of the group appeared again on the streets of Ferguson, following peaceful street demonstrations on the anniversary of Brown's shooting. According to an article in ''The Washington Post'', "The men—all of them white and heavily armed—said they were in the area to protect someone who worked for the Web site ''
InfoWars ''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC. Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in studi ...
'', which is affiliated with talk-radio conspiracy theorist and self-described 'thought criminal against Big Brother'
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...
." The Oath Keepers claimed to be on the side of the protestors. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told the newspaper that the Oath Keepers' "presence was both unnecessary and inflammatory." One Ferguson activist, Ryan Herring, described their presence as intimidating and frightening and criticized the Oath Keepers for their suggestion that protestors should use their legal right to carry firearms by saying that this would have increased the tension with the police openly. Sam Andrews, a member of the Oath Keepers, contended that the protestors calmed down when the Oath Keepers arrived at the protest. St. Louis County police officer Dan Page was relieved of duty in 2014 after pushing and threatening with arrest
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
journalist
Don Lemon Don Lemon (born March 1, 1966) is an American television journalist most well known for being a host on CNN. Lemon anchored weekend news programs on local television stations in Alabama and Pennsylvania during his early days as a journalist. He ...
on live television in Ferguson. Subsequently, an hour-long videotaped speech made by Page to an Oath Keepers meeting was found on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. In the speech, Page boasted, "I'm also a killer. I've killed a lot, and if I need to I'll kill a whole bunch more." Page also denounced hate crime laws, disparaged Muslims, and espoused
Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories During Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace, and of the individuals questioning his religious belief and cit ...
(Page referred to Obama as "that illegal alien claiming to be president"). The YouTube video contained a disclaimer stating that Page's opinions did not reflect those of the local chapter or national organization. The group's activities in Ferguson led to them being labeled "
vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
" by some journalists. Mike Giglio of ''The Atlantic'' reported that at a July 2020 meeting at a
Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...
hall in
Rutherford County, Tennessee Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of the 2021 census, the population was 352,182, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the Univers ...
, founder Rhodes, speaking of the events of the racial unrest in the United States that year, said that antifa and other protesters "are insurrectionists, and we have to suppress that insurrection" and that "eventually they're going to be using IEDs" and consequently "us old vets and younger ones are going to end up having to kill these young kids and they're going to die believing they were fighting Nazis." After three people were killed in protests in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, and
Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes tweeted, "The first shot f a civil warhas been fired brother." Following the deaths during protests in
Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...
and the
George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon Starting in May 2020, demonstrations over the police murder of George Floyd were held in the city of Portland, Oregon, concurrent with protests in other cities in the United States and around the world. By July 2020, many of the protests, which ...
, Rhodes referred to antifa and Black Lives Matter protestors as attempting an "open Communist insurrection". Stating that they were engaged in civil war he asked President Trump to declare a nationwide insurrection to be opposed by a federalised
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
to engage with the protestors. If Trump failed to do this Rhodes said that the Oath Keepers would. Twitter responded by banning his and the Oath Keepers' accounts.


Reception

Larry Keller wrote in the SPLC's 2009 report ''The Second Wave: Return of the Militias'' that the Oath Keepers "may be a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival." Keller described
Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...
, an Oath Keeper, as a "longtime militia hero" and quoted him as having said, "The greatest threat we face today is not
terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
; it is our federal government. ... One of the best and easiest solutions is to depend on local officials, especially the sheriff, to stand against federal intervention and federal criminality." Mack, a former
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, responded by denying the claims, saying, "I have had no contact with any militia group and have never been a member of any militia." Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC, said in an interview that the group has no history of political violence, but that, "The core ideas of these groups relate to the fear that elites in this country and around the world are slowly and steadily and nefariously moving us towards a one-world government, the so-called New World Order." In 2009, the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
(ADL) wrote in a report that, "The 'orders' the Oath Keepers refuse o obeyreveal their extreme conspiratorial mindset, because the 'orders' are not instructions ever likely to be actually handed down by Obama or his officials; instead, they are reflective of the anti-government conspiracy theories embraced by the extreme right." Quoting the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal'' ...
'', MSNBC political commentator
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...
wrote: "Oath Keepers, depending on where one stands, are either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia." Buchanan himself concluded that "America was once their country. They sense they are losing it. And they are right."
Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...
host Lou Dobbs spoke with founder Stewart Rhodes on his radio show in 2009 and criticized the SPLC for "perpetuating the same kind of intolerance it claims to condemn." On ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and ...
'', Matthews questioned Rhodes about his "vigilante group" and on his "strange view of the world." Protesters have accused the group of racism, especially after groups of white members armed with rifles congregated in Ferguson during demonstrations related to police brutality.Laughland, Oliver, Jon Swaine, and Joanna Walters
White Militiamen Roam Ferguson with Rifles While Black Men Wrongly Arrested
, ''The Guardian'' (August 11, 2015).


See also

*
Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of local police officials in the United States who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of county ...
* List of militia organizations in the United States


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Grand jury indictment of Stewart Rhodes et al. – United States Department of Justice – January 12, 2022
{{authority control Political organizations based in the United States Vigilantism in the United States Bundy standoff Critics of Black Lives Matter Non-profit organizations based in Nevada Organizations established in 2009 Patriot movement 2009 establishments in the United States Groups and movements involved with the January 6 United States Capitol attack