The evidence of guilt is remarkably strong, the defenses offered are just as weak, and witness testimony even offers some reason for hope beyond this case. In 2014, Rhodes claimed the group had an unlikely 35,000 dues-paying members who are said to be mostly, although not exclusively, current and former military, law enforcement and emergency first responders. The list of orders the Oath Keepers vow to refuse reveals their extreme conspiratorial mindset, because the orders are not instructions likely to ever be actually handed down by officials; instead, they are reflective of the antigovernment conspiracy theories embraced by the extreme right. We are, indeed, most concerned about expected attempts at voter fraud by leftists, Rhodes said. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The Oath Keepers declared theirmission accomplishedand ended the security operation in what they touted as a victory against the government. Ultimately, there was no standoff. 19, 2009, in the wake of the country electing Barack Obama as its first Black president. A District of Columbia judge sentenced Kokesh to two years probation on the shotgun charge in November 2013. This is a matter of national security and also a matter of national survival. ). Stewart Rhodes, My Personal Pledge of Resistance Against Any Attempt to Disarm Us by Means of an Assault Weapons Ban, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 19, 2012. Seven of the defendants were visible wearing combat gear and participating in a tactical stack as they moved through the crowd towards the Capitol. The Oath Keepers have also amplified conspiracies regarding antifa, for example an August 2019 post on their website details allegations that antifa attempted to purchase weapons from Mexican cartels to advance an uprising within the U.S. and that antifa was planning to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents in El Paso, Texas. In a separate incident, the U.S. Park Police arrested Kokesh for bearing arms at the Freedom Plaza in violation of Washington D.C. law by loading a shotgun. The indictment alleges that Rhodes conspired with co-defendants and others to oppose, by force, the execution of the laws enabling the transfer of presidential power. The Oath Keepers regularly denounce FEMA and their response to natural disasters, highlighting notable failures during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey. The groups response to the 2020 outbreak of the coronavirus is discussed in more detail below; however, it is worth noting that the national organization initially shared material on its website and Twitter account calling for increased state government involvement in stemming the viruss spread before shifting its messaging and labelling the virus as a weapon used by leftists to attack President Trump and by the government to strip away Americans rights. Rhodes "saw this titanic struggle between people like him who wanted individual liberty and the government that would try to take away that liberty," Matt Parry, who clerked alongside Rhodes, toldAP. Several Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, have been hit with seditious. He was subsequently convicted of knowingly transmitting a threatening communication and received an eightmonth sentence. They are also proponents of the sovereign citizen movement, believing that they are not subject to any laws of the U.S. government. In this case, the Oath Keepers and other rightwing extremists opposed the Bureau of Land Managements efforts to impound Bundys cattle, which had been illegally grazing on federal land. Antigovernment rhetoric energized his defense and underpinned his lack of cooperation in the case. And you can bet that if you let them take away your military semi-autos, next on their list will be bolt action rifles, which they will call sniper rifles (and By God, that is certainly what they are good for! While this terminology reflects some of the language used by explicitly antisemitic groups, antisemitism is not a foundational issue for the Oath Keepers. He would deny you the right for trial to jury, but we would give him a trial by jury. But well make sure that were within range because I dont trust the Pentagon, I dont trust the brass, I dont trust even the Secretary of Defense to stand behind the President [Trump] and dont be surprised if you dont get the same kind of standdown order you saw with Benghazi. Stewart Rhodes, during an interview on Infowars The Alex Jones Show, Oct. 27, 2020, Well go undercover and look for people we think are committing voting fraud. Label it pretend legislation like the Founding Fathers did.Stewart Rhodes, during an interview on Infowars The Alex Jones Show, Jan. 20, 2021, It is CRITICAL that all patriots who can be in D.C. get to D.C. to stand tall in support of President Trumps fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup, through the massive voter fraud and related attacks on our Republic. Oath Keepers have made continuous, baseless claims that antifa is an arm of the Democratic Party and that they are working together with the goal of a socialist takeover. The Oath Keepers urge military and law enforcement personnel to step up to stop the conspirators. In June 2017, Oath Keepers participated in March Against Sharia rallies organized by ACT for America, an anti-immigrant hate group. SPLC is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization (EIN: 63-0598743), Local Policing and Immigration Enforcement, Request for Legal Assistance Economic Justice, Stewart Rhodes, during an interview on Infowars The Alex Jones Show, Jan. 20, 2021, Stewart Rhodes, posted on the Oath Keepers website, Jan. 4, 2021, Stewart Rhodes, Open Letter to President Trump: You Must Use Insurrection Act to Stop the Steal and Defeat the Coup, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 14, 2020, Stewart Rhodes, during an interview on Infowars The Alex Jones Show, Oct. 27, 2020, Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers Call to Action: Border Operation, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 4, 2018, Stewart Rhodes, in an Oath Keepers press release following the mass murder of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 13, 2016, Stewart Rhodes, at an event in Tempe, Arizona, May 5, 2015, Stewart Rhodes, My Personal Pledge of Resistance Against Any Attempt to Disarm Us by Means of an Assault Weapons Ban, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 19, 2012, providing security without first obtaining a license., David Smith, regional spokesman for the Forest Service. After failing to appear for his trial, Dyer fled Oklahoma as a fugitive, leading police on a multi-state chase that ended with his capture in Houston, Texas. Once these thugs turned to burning, killing and looting, they became domestic enemies.. In May 2012, a federal judge in Knoxville sentenced Huff to four years in prison. The other orders they refuse to follow are of a similar sort. The five members were driving around Mexico Beach patrolling the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in a Ford automobile that was decorated to look like a patrol cruiser; every member wore military-style clothing, including one vest that read tactical officer.. The group claims to have tens of thousands of members across the country and has notably directed most of its recruiting efforts toward people in public safety positions whotend to lean conservative. But that wasnt the case in early 2016, when members of the same Bundy family who were at the center of the 2014 Nevada standoff got interested in another conflict with the federal government, this one in Harney County, Oregon. Overreaching laws or regulations are also expected. He talks. Thirteen people associated with the Oath Keepers have. During the 2016 presidential election, the Oath Keepers were at it again, with RhodesannouncingOperation Sabot 2016as a method to prevent the election from being stolen from Donald Trump, something the candidate repeatedly predicted. The group has ties to other antigovernment extremist groups, including former Arizona SheriffRichard Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). Washington, D.C., January 2021:Federal authorities have arrested at least 25 people associated with the Oath Keepers, charging them in connection with their efforts to impede the processes governing the transfer of presidential power in the lead up to and during the January 6 insurrection. The group has attracted considerable media attention in 2020 for providing vigilante-style security for local communities and businesses during Black Lives Matter protests, for their aggressive rhetoric in the lead up to the 2020 election (including asserting that the Marxist left is trying to seize control of the United States which led Twitter to de-platform the group) and for participating in various anti-lockdown protests. Also in 2015, Oath Keepers in Montana put out anothercall to action, summoning members to help another local miner fight the government even though the Forest Service had been working with the miner for some time to resolve the issue. Were looking for indicators that theyve got people who arent US citizens voting; then we can go and suppress that behaviour by letting it be known that were watching. Greenwood, Delaware, February 2015: Oath Keeper Matthew Opaliski was charged with three counts of dealing firearms without a license and two counts of unlawful transfer of firearms after he allegedly sold, traded or gave firearms to a person who was not a Delaware resident. Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, and 10 alleged accomplices charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from January 6 Capitol riot . Similarly, the owners of Sugar Pine Mine in Josephine County, Oregon, were in a dispute with the Bureau of Land Management over unauthorized surface structures. He was charged with carrying a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to use it for civil disorder, as well as a second count of using a firearm in relation to another felony. . The Oath Keepers is a far-right citizen militia and anti-government group that sprang into existence as the Tea Party Movement powered up its reform-blocking machine and the racist birther. Each theory goes back to the idea that the U.S. government has fallen under global governance and will at some point use police and military members to enforce the New World Orders plans. Its not the people who are there Im worried about its the ones from the fringe who want to join in. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the . He eventually reached a plea deal on local charges against him, pleading no contest to one charge in exchange for the state dropping other charges. With help from Infowars host Alex Jones, the group increasingly promoted far-right conspiracies as the 2020 election approached. Impending Martial Law: One of the most prominent Oath Keeper theories is that a large scale pandemic, natural disaster or terrorist attack will give the government an excuse to impose martial law resulting in (but not limited to) door to door gun confiscation, the ban of interstate travel and detainment of citizens in concentration camps. As the election neared, Rhodes ratcheted up his rhetoric. Following the 2020 election, in which former President Donald Trump lost to President Biden, the Oath Keepers began working on a weeks-long campaign to have the election overturned. Stewart Rhodes has spoken at anti-lockdown protests in Texas, New York and California. The group advocates for Americans to prepare for inevitable conflict with the government by stockpiling goods and supplies, engaging in paramilitary training and working to create small, self-reliant community networks. Countering Black Lives Matter: Some of the Oath Keepers most notable mobilizations have occurred in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. At least nine people associated with the Oath Keepers have been. The Oath Keepers have been linked to incidents of violence, including last year's Capitol riots. Since then, the Oath Keepers have become a household name across the country. For a dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy theorist who had been planning for dystopian collapse for . Massachusetts - site of . We Oath Keepers are both honor-bound and eager to be there in strength to do our part. Stewart Rhodes, posted on the Oath Keepers website, Jan. 4, 2021, You must act NOW as a wartime President, pursuant to your oath to defend the Constitution, which is very similar to the oath all of us veterans swore. Since the election of President Trump, the Oath Keepers have routinely stoked fears regarding the Democratic Party, stating that the party is in fact a Marxist-Islamist organization, where an unholy alliance of communists and jihadists aim to defeat their common enemy Western Civilization. In his book Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group, Sam Jackson says this creates in an inherent contradiction for the group the police and military organizations from which their members come are some of the same organizations the group likely would have to attack in order to carry out its self-proclaimed mission against the government. Under his leadership, the Oath Keepers are essentially an updated and more successful version of a similar 1990s group, Police Against the New World Order, started by retired police officer Jack McLamb, who died in 2014. Huff was given a four-year prison sentence. In a bold move, Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the right-wing militia group, sat for an interview with federal agents after they seized his phone in May. CPTs are armed community teams, or militias, meant to prepare for disasters, natural or otherwise, and defend Americans against the New World Order. Me? The organization has publicly labeled lockdown measures Orwellian violations of liberty and urges their members to defy these measures. Antifa is a loose collection of groups, networks and individuals who believe in active, sometimes aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. He was charged with conspiracy to impede officers of the U.S. from discharging their duties via force, intimidation or threat. He was tracked down and arrested the following week in Houston, Texas, extradited back to Oklahoma, where (after several abortive attempts) he finally stood trial, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. A human rights organization founded by slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi is calling on Congress and the Justice Department to investigate former President Donald Trump's business deals with a . All Rights Reserved. This sentiment is encapsulated in the socalled Oath Keepers Pledge, which they ask all members and supporters to take. It ended when officials arrested the Bundys and others at a roadblock near the refuge. The name Oath Keepers comes from the groups core principle that members vow to uphold the oath they took as law enforcement or military personnel to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Oath Keepers urge members to obey the Constitution, as they understand it, even if that interpretation goes against that of U.S. lawmakers and judges. Depends on what you want to do with it. Heavily armed members of the Oath Keepers were seen on rooftops in what they said was an effort to protect businesses from rioters. The Oath Keepers aim much of their propaganda at members of military and police, reminding them that they swore an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and asking them to pledge to disobey theoretical unconstitutional orders they might get from superiorsorders that explicitly or implicitly reference militiarelated conspiracy theories, such as mass gun confiscation or rounding up Americans to put them in concentration camps. Thirty-nine seconds later, defendant Kelly Meggs, who was then leading about 14 Oath Keepers toward the Capitol, also called Rhodes. The Oath Keepers claim it is their mission to protect Trump Rally attendees and provide them escorts to and from their vehicles. Here's everything you need to know: They are described by the Anti-Defamation Leagueas "a large but loosely organized collection of right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement." The Oath Keepers was officially launched with a rally in Lexington, Massachusetts, onApr. Various Oath Keeper adherents attended the protest, carrying signs and publicly showcasing their dislike for Governor Northams attempts at gun legislation, calling him a coward and a tyrant while also violating the states ban on firearms. He received two months of probation for charges related to the Freedom Plaza incident. Though there is a formal national leadership, on the local level many Oath Keepers are essentially selforganized, forming official, semiofficial or informal groupings of Oath Keepers in specific, sometimes even overlapping, geographic areas. The Oath Keepers say that their mission is to defend the . Documents shared by the ADL claimed that politicians, police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other public officials were members of the extremist group. Prior to his arrest, Kokesh claimed to be an Oath Keeper and promoted the Oath Keepers through his radio talk show, Adam vs. the Man.. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism received more than. Though the Oath Keepers have generally been less hostile towards law enforcement during the Trump administration, it is likely that their vitriol would return under a Democratic administration. A Washington, DC, jury on Tuesday convicted Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and associate Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy for their role around the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He warned about a possible Benghazi-style attack targeting President Trump and said that the Oath Keepers will be stationing its best men outside of Washington, D.C. around the election because they are anticipating the government to enable a coup against Trump. Despite this, the Bundys and a number of other heavily armed militants decided to break away from a pro-Hammond rally in Oregon and occupy the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a famous birding location. They also routinely offer protection to individuals, including to Ann Coulter at a UC Berkeley Free Speech event in 2017. This includes conspiracy theories involving the confiscation of Americans' guns and rounding people up into concentration camps. CNN A lawyer with close ties to the right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers has been charged with four counts related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, including conspiracy to. In January 2017, the Oath Keepers, along with Three Percenters, coordinated volunteer security operations forTrumps inaugurationto protect against any possible violence from jihadist terrorists or radical leftist groups. Oath Keepers provided similar armed security details for Trump rallies inMinnesotaandTexasin October 2019. However, the outlet also noted that the tactics of the Oath Keepers were constantly shifting in an effort to evade law enforcement. The groups website called Quartzsite apivot pointfor Americans finally to see the looming danger of the New World Order. In the end, the Oath Keepers got a lot of headlines, but accomplished virtually nothing. The Oath Keepers did not have 25,000 soldiers at the ready. Oath Keepers responded and were stationed in Granbury, Texas, outside Lift the Bar gym, supposedly to protect the owner from arrest for violating COVID-19 orders. C. Ryan Barber. In January 2016,Jon Ritzheimer, a member of the Oath Keepers and participant in the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon, surrendered to authorities. While the Oath Keepers official statement regarding the death of George Floyd was to condemn the actions of the officers involved, they have stated that they oppose looting and arson and have expressed a general distrust for the Black Lives Matter protests. Extremists Engage in Political Violence During Pro-Trump Rallies, Extremists Face Arrests, Uncertain Future Following January 6 Insurrection, reference militiarelated conspiracy theories. He should be tried for treason before a jury of his peers which he would deny you. But they chose Massachusetts as the site for the group's formal launch in 2009. Bay County, Florida, October 2018: A group identifying themselves as Oath Keepers were arrested after violating curfew and for openly carrying a firearm. Though Twitter has not stated which specific posts they determined violated their policy, in the weeks leading up to their ban, the Oath Keepers Twitter account declared in the wake of the murder of Patriot Prayer member Aaron Danielson that there is a Marxist rebellion against the United States, with the oft stated intent to overthrow its government under the Constitution. The account urged President Trump to declare that there is an ongoing Marxist insurrection led by antifa and Black Lives Matter and to respond by calling the militia into federal service to suppress the rebellion.. Oath Keepers members have not limited their activities to spouting extreme antigovernment conspiracy theories as a number of people associated with the Oath Keepers have been involved in criminal incidents since its founding in 2009. The Oath Keepers rose to prominence when handfuls of heavily armed members showed up at racial justice protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, and their profile grew thanks to a series of . The group argued that the election was stolen from Trump and participated in several Stop the Steal protests. The BLM was stunned by this response, as they had made it known they had no plans of taking action until the appeal had been decided. In February 2015, Irish was sentenced to 18 months in prison. WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging a member of the Oath Keepers with conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their first major showdown with the government occurred in 2011 in the town ofQuartzsite, Arizona. In 2014, members formed their own patrol in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of an unarmed Black man in 2014, and they provided security to an Infowars reporter during the anniversary protest a year later. All told, at least 25 Oath Keepers are facing various charges in connection with their actions on January 6, 2021. t. e. Social conservatism in the United States is a political ideology focused on the preservation of traditional values and beliefs. Oath Keepers also responded to a request for protection by salon owner Shelley Luther when she reopened her business on April 24 against public health mandates and then tore up a cease-and-desist letter from local authorities. And Im worried about the safety of the people up there. The Oath Keepers, who believe themselves to be " the last line of defense against tyranny ," are more aptly described as a conspiracy group, or extremist militia, who have set aside their anti . Oath Keepers claimed they were providing security for rally goers against imagined threats from the left. In April 2014, Rhodes and several fellow Oath Keepers traveled to theNevada ranchof Cliven Bundy, answering a nationwide call Bundy made asking militiamen to join him in standing up to federal officials seeking to seize his cattle because he had refused to pay federal grazing fees for some 20 years. The group is rooted in conspiracy theories, including the belief that the federal. Thats why Oath Keepers will be posted outside of D.C. Weve got some of our best men working on the plan right now for where were going to be. The miners received anNotice of Noncomplianceand were ordered to stop their mining activities, submit the appropriate paperwork and fees for their operations, or file an appeal. 0:57. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Biden's election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in. The standoff with federal and other law enforcement agencies lasted 41 days. On October 27, he appeared on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones program The Alex Jones Show and said that members of the Oath Keepers will be at polling stations to protect Trump voters from the left. A leaked Oath Keepers membership list contains more than 38,000 names, including those of elected officials, police chiefs, and members of the military, according to a report published Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Meanwhile, they are doubling down on conspiratorial claimsthat the election wasstolenand that the Biden administration is a nefarious entity seeking to destroy the American way of life.This signal the return of the militia movements traditional animosity towards the federal government which they largely downplayed during the Trump administration. in 2014, Oath Keepers garnered attention from the media for their involvement in the unrest that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict police . In response to various controversial shootings by and of police since 2014, most Oath Keepers have sided with law enforcement against activist groups like Black Lives Matter. To prove the imminent threat of martial law, Rhodes often points to the World War II internment of Japanese Americans and to the gun confiscation by police and military members in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (a federal court subsequently ordered New Orleans officials to return all confiscated firearms). As a result, Rhodes argued, the Oath Keepers could not be found guilty because they were simply following their president's orders. Neither do we. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as unlawful enemy combatants or to subject them to military tribunal. UPDATE: OnJanuary 13, 2022,federal authorities arrestedOath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes oncharges ofseditious conspiracyfor his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism pored over more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists and identified more than 370 people it believes currently work in law. ANCHORAGE, Alaska The plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the eligibility of state Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, to hold office said Tuesday that he will not appeal a judge's decision During the pandemic, and the installation of public health safety measures, Oath Keepers responded by claiming to protect and supportbusinesses and business ownerswho reopened in defiance of these guidelines. But we will spot, document, and reportanyapparent attempt at vote fraud or voter intimidation as is our duty.. By Ryan J. Reilly. The Oath Keepers, which claims tens of thousands of present and former law enforcement officials and military veterans as members, is one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S. today. Documents purported to be from the Oath Keepers, leaked by whistleblower group Distributed Denial of Secrets, show . This invasion/coup must be stopped, and with the ongoing failure of the RINO dominated Republicans to finance a wall, stopping it will now require full scale military action, which we strongly encourage President Trump to take under his authority as Commander In Chief. Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers Call to Action: Border Operation, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 4, 2018, This wave of Islamist terror attacks will be part of a perfect storm of intentionally orchestrated Cloward-Piven chaos inducing economic devastation, social and political disruption and violence, and the use of intentionally undefended borders and mass illegal and refugee immigration as weapons of destabilization (and to provide cover for and facilitate more violence and terrorism by multiple proxy agents of the elites, including the cartels, gangs, well-funded Marxist and racist agitators such as La Raza and Black Lives Matter and radical Islamist cells and individuals). Stewart Rhodes, in an Oath Keepers press release following the mass murder of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 13, 2016, John [Mc]Cain is a traitor to the Constitution. Most relate to their recruitment and promotional efforts. Nineteenindividuals arechargedwith conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiring to prevent an officer of the U.S. from discharging a duty, and of these, eleven including founder and leader Stewart Rhodes are also charged with seditious conspiracy. The Oath Keepers belief that the allegedly tyrannical American government will use law enforcement and military personnel against its people leads to their avowed purpose of opposing such conspiracies. As part of the groups mission, Oath Keepers have directed their recruiting effort toward members of the military, law enforcement and other public-safety positions. Two elected officials in Wilbraham and Cape Cod are listed as being members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group. Washington CNN Prosecutors on Monday presented opening arguments in a second trial against members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group accused of joining a monthslong plot to keep Joe. 19, 2009, in the wake of the country electing Barack Obama as its first Black president. While the most notable of these remains the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, they reportedly have a long history of involving themselves in vigilante justice. Oath Keepers across the country have engaged in a wide array of activities, some of which have gotten considerable media attention. The Bundys and other sympathizers tried to get Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son, Steven Hammond, 46, on their side, denouncing the Hammonds resentencing and the management of public lands by federal agencies. Domestic. Members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group, are on trial in one of the most high-profile cases stemming from the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Peoria, Arizona, January 2016: Jon Ritzheimer, a former member of the Oath Keepers, voluntarily surrendered to local authorities. AntiUnited Nations Sentiments: Oath Keepers view the United Nations (UN) as a tool of the New World Order trying to undermine American sovereignty by imposing a globalist agenda. He would go on to start the Oath Keepers group in 2009 in Lexington, Massachusetts the site of the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. The Oath Keepers seem to be trying to resolve this tension by focusing their confrontational tactics primarily on various federal law enforcement agencies, while often siding with local law enforcement officers in other controversies. Since shifting their approach, the Oath Keepers have provided security to businesses that have refused to follow state lockdown orders while maintaining a presence at anti-lockdown rallies across the nation. Dyer was extradited back to Oklahoma and subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison. Nine seconds after that, Rhodes merged the two calls. [1] In the United States, one of the largest forces of social conservatism is . It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. For example, the Oath Keepers believe that a UN Small Arms Treaty will be implemented to bypass the second Amendment and prohibit firearms. Mack is a founding member on the Oath Keepers board of directors. He was convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Eleven Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 12, 2022, and charged with seditious conspiracy, which is defined as a crime against the state. As Black Lives Matter protests spread across the United States during the summer of 2020 in reaction to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Oath Keepers offered protection to various restaurants and businesses from alleged looters and arsonists and in several cases, they showed up to provide armed security. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel toldHigh Country News that he was [concerned] in that there were militia,Three Percentersand Oath Keepers from around the country that had come in and were potentially unpredictable. Cook had previous convictions for possessing stolen property, grand larceny and attempted possession of a controlled substance. But he failed to do that and he allowed a ChiCom puppet into the White House and I think we now need to just declare that to be illegitimate and refuse to comply with anything that comes out of his mouth, anything he signs, anything passed as so-called legislation. Oath Keepers is an American far-right [1] anti-government militia [1] [3] whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the US Constitution. Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021. The Interior Board of Land Appeals decided the miners were allowed to operate the mine while their appeal was being considered. Oath Keepers is an essential contribution to our understanding of the growing appeal and violent potential of ever-evolving forms of domestic extremism. Instead, many simply dismiss the events of January 6thas the work of antifa or a false flag operation. The Oath Keepers rose to prominence when handfuls of heavily armed members showed up at racial justice protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, and their profile grew thanks to a series of . We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people. The Oath Keepers have become indelibly tied to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and their leader, Stewart Rhodes, was convicted of seditious conspiracy related to that day. In addition to peddling conspiracy theories and paranoia, the Oath Keepers use a number of strategies to stay in the forefront of the antigovernment extremist movement in the United States. The Oath Keepers are a large but loosely organized collection of right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement, which believes that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights. Ritzheimer pleaded guilty and received a prison sentence of one year and a day. Prior to his arrest, Dyer had posted a YouTube video in which Dyer, a former Marine, said, Join the military? 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. ", Trump's 'MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT' was a line of $99 NFT trading cards with 'no inherent monetary value', U.S. Nov 7, 2022, 2:04 PM. The group has also long warned that voluntary UN sustainable development plans like Agenda 21 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was implemented in 2015 will be used to take away private property and civil liberties in the name of sustainability. Republican voters are flocking to Ron DeSantis but why? Recent investigations have found direct ties between major police departments and the extremist right-wing militant group the Oath Keepers, which was a major player in the January 6 attack on the Capitol and regularly participates in violent intimidation of left-wing protesters.. This activity mirrors the Oath Keepers behavior in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, when a small of group of armed local Oath Keepers, led by Sam Andrews, took to the streets during the unrest following a grand jurys decision not to charge a former police officer for the shooting death of a Black teenager, Michael Brown, Jr. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol:At least nine people associated with the Oath Keepers have beenchargedwith conspiracy in connection with the January 6 attack, with prosecutors alleging that the defendants coordinated to travel to Washington, D.C., breach the Capitol and disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. On Dec. 31, 2019, the Oath Keepers issued a call to action for the Lobby Day, stating that they were sending a team to Virginia to assist in organizing resistance to unconstitutional acts and to organize and train armed posses and militia. The Facebook event, The Militias March on the Capital, listed more than 550 attendees. In December 2018, the Oath Keepers website advertised acall to actionfor a Border Operation, encouraging engagement in paramilitary activity to prevent the invasion of illegals into the country and to provide security for border ranches and families, presumably against immigrants, another exaggerated and unsupported claim propagated by the group. The Oath Keepers was officially launched with a rally in Lexington, Massachusetts, on Apr. Barbeau pleaded guilty to possessing a machine gun and was sentenced to 27 months in prison in September 2017. Members patrolled the site of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and polling locations in 2016 and 2020, allegedly to discourage and report voter fraud. At the White Hope mine in Lincoln, Montana, the U.S. Forest Service took issue with an unauthorized shed and surface disturbances related to the cutting of firewood. The ideology of the Oath Keepers most closely resembles that of the militia movement, whose adherents believe that the United States is collaborating with a oneworld tyrannical conspiracy called the New World Order to strip Americans of their rightsstarting with their right to keep and bear arms. The Arizona Supreme Court reprimanded Rhodes andfined him $600. The extremist group is accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Eventually, 10 Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, were indicted on seditious conspiracy charges. The Oath Keepers have become indelibly tied to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and their leader, . The popularity of Oath Keepers social media accounts illustrates clearly that many more people support the Oath Keepers without ever officially joining (which requires paying dues). Phillips was eventually convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Oath Keeper member and tattoo shop owner Roberto Minuta requested the groups presence for the reopening of his business. The Oath Keepers are a large but loosely organized collection of antigovernment extremists; membership data is closely guarded. Stewart Rhodes denies planning Oath Keepers' Jan. 6 Capitol riot involvement in testimony Men sporting gear identifying them as "Oath Keepers" were among the crowds that gathered in Washington, D . Such behavior was in line with the Oath Keepers efforts to focus on opposing state governments rather than the Trump administration. Duncan, Oklahoma, January 2010: Charles Dyer, an Oklahoma Oath Keeper, was arrested by local law enforcement on charges of raping a young child; during his arrest, authorities also discovered an unregistered grenade launcher in his residence that had been stolen from a military base in California. In 2015, an Oregon chapter of the Oath Keepers acted in support of Rick Barclay and George Backes, two Oregon gold miners whose operations the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) alleged were in violation of government regulations. These include: Impending Takeover of the U.S. by the Marxist Left: On September 10, 2020, Twitter announced that it had banned the accounts belonging to the Oath Keepers for violating the platforms policies on violent extremist groups as part of the platforms wider effort to limit the presence of militias on its platform. Since then, the Oath. Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2015: Nevada Oath Keeper (and Bundy standoff participant) Richard Lee Cook was arrested and indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The center. What differentiates the Oath Keepers from other antigovernment extremist groups is that the Oath Keepers explicitly focus on recruiting current and former military members, police officers and first responders (although they accept anyone as members). At a rally in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19 . Judah Cohen, Director of Seasonal Forecasting at AER (Atmospheric and Environmental Research), is a climatologist who focuses on long-range forecasts and is the guest for both episodes. The number of active duty police and military personnel who have publicly admitted to being Oath Keepers is very small; the number of closeted members may be larger. In response, the group posted acall to actionon its website. Addresses from cities, suburbs, and rural areas all appeared on the list. In the run up to the election, the group openly posted aboutplans to go to polling locationsto stand up against and protect voters from anti-Trump left-wing groups. The group continued to plead with Trump to declare a national emergency to build his border wall, attended a We Build the Wall event in Sunland Park, New Mexico, and mobilized to Texas for a security operation along the border. Their overt opposition to President Trump made them a target for anti-government extremists, and Oath Keepers were quick to label antifa the modern day Brown Shirts. They have repeatedly called on President Trump to put an end to the terrorist insurrection of antifa, particularly in response to their alleged involvement in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and they have offered protection to various individuals who have been doxed by supposed antifa supporters, including ICE officials and their families. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, April 2009: Daniel Knight Hayden, an Oath Keeper supporter, was arrested by the FBI after posting a series of Twitter messages threatening to attack Oklahoma officials (including police officers) on April 15 (Tax Day). The Nevada-basednonprofitwas founded by Yale Law School graduate and former U.S. Army paratrooperElmerStewart Rhodes. Though it is not alleged that Rhodes entered the Capitol building, Rhodes led Oath Keepers planning and coordination in advance of January 6 which included the formation of armed teams prepared to use force and he was at the building and allegedly in communication with members of the group during the insurrection. WASHINGTON At the height of the chaos at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, two dozen members of the Oath Keepers militia met outside the building with their leader, Stewart Rhodes. Minuta has beenindictedon the conspiracy charge. On Jan. 6, 2021, members of the Oath Keepers from around the country participated in the insurrection and breach of the U.S. Capitol building. Founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers is a large right-wing anti-government extremist group. In August 2011, Rhodes and his Oath Keepers traveled to Quartzsite, Arizona, to join in a protest in support of local residents who were ejected from a town council meeting after speaking past the allotted time and refusing to leave the meeting. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes . The ADL noted that the Oath Keepers have adhered to the general tenets of the militia movement, and believe the goal of this conspiracy is to form a tyrannical New World Order to enslave Americans. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism received more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists, according to the Associated Press. The Oath Keepers rose to prominence when handfuls of heavily armed members showed up at racial justice protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, and their profile grew thanks to a series of . The miners filed an appeal and asked the Oath Keepers toprovide securityto protect them and the mine against the BLM, claiming the BLM had a history of burning down cabins and confiscating property at whim, without due process. The Oath Keepers subsequently put out anationwide call to actionfor Operation Gold Rush, as they called it. The group has also recruited from among people already involved in the anti-government extremist movement. These supposed threats from the government are all key to the central conspiracy theory propagated by the antigovernment movement, namely the New World Order. Groups that are part of theantigovernment movement, including the Oath Keepers, believe the government is secretly planning, along with foreign countries and the United Nations, to impose martial law, seize all Americans guns, force resisters into concentration camps and install a one-world totalitarian government known as the New World Order.. The most recent is the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when members of the group, including its leader, Stewart Rhodes, were arrested and accused of conspiring to oppose the presidential transfer of power by force. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, author of Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right Jackson provides the most detailed examination of Oath Keepers that we have, developing our understanding of how . The Oath Keepers are a large but loosely organized collection of right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the. Rhodes was a 2004 graduate of Yale Law School, and former classmates later recalled that he had demonstrated a particular interest in the Second Amendment. The pledge, which refers to the honorable vow of service given by those in uniform, reminds Oath Keepers that they swore an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. By taking this pledge, Oath Keepers vow that they will refuse to cooperate with the tyrannical government by making a declaration that there are certain orders from superiors that they will refuse to obey. The Oath Keepers rose to prominence when handfuls of heavily armed members showed up at racial justice protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, and their profile grew thanks to a series of . In his call for action, Rhodes asked all Oath Keepers to come to the Bundy Ranch and stand up against a corrupt government that would subvert us all, though a fear of drone strikes caused an Oath Keepers retreat, which tarnished the groups reputation among other anti-government extremists. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. Three individuals associated with the Oath Keepers, a paramilitary organization focused on recruitment of current and former military, law enforcement, and first responder personnel, were indicted today in federal court in the District of Columbia for conspiring to obstruct Congress, among other charges. When some of. COVID-19 Advice: The militia movement has long been preoccupied with the idea that a pandemic (possibly one that was manufactured) could be used as a pretense to infringe on American liberties, and the Oath Keepers are no different in this regard. While Rhodes reportedly framed the early days of the Oath Keepers as "just a pro-Constitution group made up of patriots," he would eventually help the group evolve into what it is today. The Southern Poverty Law Center further describes the Oath Keepers as "often confrontational," noting that they have been involved in a number of armed standoffs involving the government. At 2:31 p.m.18 minutes after rioters breached the west front of the Capitol buildingthe Oath Keepers' operations leader that day, Michael Greene, called Rhodes. They even ventured into QAnon territory, adopting and circulating QAnon-related conspiracies on their website. The Oath Keepers wereparticularly active in 2020, participating in various anti-lockdown protests, providing vigilante-style security for local communities and businesses during the Black Lives Matter protests that spread in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and warning about a potential takeover by the Marxist left during the 2020 election. In addition to Rhodes, ten other Oath Keepers nine of whom were already facing conspiracy charges relating to the attack were charged with seditious conspiracy, and these individuals are the first to face seditious conspiracy charges for conduct arising from the January 6 insurrection. He subsequently pleaded guilty in August 2016 to a felony charge of federal conspiracy to impede federal workers for his prominent role in the 2016 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He formally launched the Oath Keepers in Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 2009, where the first shot in the American Revolution was fired. Well videotape them and turn it over to law enforcement.Stewart Rhodes, as quoted in The Times article, Primed by Trump, Militias Gear up for Stolen US Election, June 29, 2020, This is a military invasion by the cartels and a political coup by the domestic Marxist controlled left, which sees open borders and mass-illegal invasion as their ticket to permanent illegitimate political power. The organization urged members to form security networks within their communities to block neighborhoods with vehicles and armed men, and following one protest in El Paso, the group claimed that they successfully served as a deterrent to anyone looking to inflict damage, thereby taking credit for peaceful protests. In a report published this week, COE identified 373 people in the Oath Keepers database believed to be active law enforcement officers, 117 people who seem to be currently serving in the military . The Oath Keepers leader, Stewart Rhodes, has posted various livestreams on the groups website claiming that undocumented immigrants are part of a larger plan to flood the United States with Democratic voters to shatter the American social system. We want to see a restoration of the militia in this country,Rhodes explainedon aGod and Guns podcast. According to the Chicago Tribune, the state of Illinois had the most members. Men sporting gear identifying them as Oath Keepers are among the massive crowds gathering in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, 2021. Stoking Fears about Antifa: Oath Keepers use the specter of antifa as a substitute for their former foe, the federal government. Throughout 2020, the group has also posted several calls to action in places like Washington D.C., New Orleans and Texas, looking for volunteers to protect monuments across the United States, arguing that these measures were needed to protect the monuments from Marxist domestic enemies who were seeking to destroy American history. Founder Stewart Rhodes is a former Montana attorney and Army veteran who acts as the groups main spokesperson. However, as the pandemic progressed, Oath Keepers changed their narrative, shifting from concern about the government failing to contain the virus to fearing government involvement altogether. The majority of these conspiracies, including the existence of a New World Order, have been debunked. Oath Keepers explain that if the federal government issues an unconstitutional order often illustrated by extreme hypotheticals such as mass gun confiscation or illegally mass detaining Americans in concentration camps it is up to the military and law enforcement to enforce these edicts. Some of these have resulted in hostile and violent confrontations with government agents, others have materialized into nothing more than show-of-force demonstrations. organization adopted anti-lockdown rhetoric. The far-right paramilitary group the Oath Keepers claims to have thousands of members across the country. In April 2010,Matthew Fairfield, a suburban Cleveland man described by prosecutors as the president of a local Oath Keepers chapter, was arrested for storing bombs at his and a friends home and for obstructing justice. FILE - Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. The events of Jan. 6 also highlighted fresh . Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The main message of these events is the false notion that Muslims are attempting to replace the American legal system with Sharia law. Rhodes formally launched the Oath. All rights reserved (About Us). Later in 2014, members of the Oath Keepers showed up in Ferguson, Missouri, during the unrest that followed the death of Michael Brown, a Black man, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. In 2014, the Oath Keepers highlighted the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa on their web site, questioning the Obama administrations response and raising concerns that it could be used to justify medical martial law in the U.S. As early as January 2020, Oath Keepers began posting about the seriousness of COVID-19, which was spreading at the time within China, and in the first two months of the pandemics spread in the U.S., they provided advice and information regarding COVID-19 to their followers. The group openly and intentionally recruits these individuals to their ranks, mostly in an effort to capitalize on the skills and knowledge these individuals acquired during their time of service. The Oath Keepers believe that the military and law enforcement members of their group will eventually stop the New World Order. The Oath Keepers stationed themselves on rooftops and conducted street patrols, asserting that they were there to protect local businesses and reporters from angry protesters. This stance is not a new one for the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, is a loosely organized conspiracy theory-fueled group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders. On May 30, John Shirley, a constable in Hood County and a member of the Oath Keepers board, issued a call to action, encouraging members toshow up armedwith rifles to provide security outside Luthers salon. He has since been arrested onseveral chargesand is included in the larger conspiracy case with over a dozen other Oath Keepers for their coordination efforts ahead of Jan. 6. American insurrectionist and Oath Keepers leader, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Polar bear kills woman, boy in remote Alaska village, Just hours before the Idaho murders, another grisly scene unfolded outside Bryan Kohberger's window, In Montecito, the Million-Dollar Views Still Come With Mudslide Risks, Channing Tatum says parenting with ex-wife Jenna Dewan made them realize they were so different, Hawaii fisherman overboard, missing after hooking large ahi, A failed GOP candidate accused of orchestrating shootings at Democratic officials' homes once called for 'civility' between the parties, Bobcat Insider: Montana State basketball teams had busy stretch ahead of rivalry games vs. Montana, Biden to visit California as severe storms fade. Providing Security: The Oath Keepers frequently solicit volunteers to provide security in a variety of different contexts. Members of the group were also indicted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. The groups fears around government overreach are most clearly exemplified in its list of 10 Orders We Will Not Obey a compendium of perceived but unrealized threats from the government. In 2015, Rhodes said they would protect notorious Kentucky clerk Kim Davis from arrest. The pro-gun group was named after the oath of service that police, military. The Center for Strategic and International Studieshas additionally outlined a large swath of the Oath Keepers' agenda. Stewart Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, with a mission to resist unlawful exercises of government power. Minuta later was connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, acting as a security guard for Roger Stone earlier that morning before participating in the insurrection himself later that day. Westfield, Massachusetts, March 2011: Oath Keeper David M. Phillips was arrested in Massachusetts on charges of possession of ammunition without the required Firearms Identification Card and four counts of possession of a large capacity firearm feeding device. Then after we convict him he should be hung by the neck until dead. Stewart Rhodes, at an event in Tempe, Arizona, May 5, 2015, It is the height of Orwellian perversion of language and logic to say that disarming you of the most effective arms for combat that you still have is somehow not really disarming you, because you still have hunting rifles and shotguns. Founded in 2009, Oath Keepers (OK) is one of the largest and most prominent organizations of the militia/patriot movement with chapters across the country. Dallas, Georgia, and Madisonville, Tennessee, April 2010: Darren Huff, a Georgia militia member and Oath Keeper, traveled to Tennessee with an AK47 and a .45 caliber Colt handgun in order to make citizens arrests of government officials who had refused demands to indict President Obama. A handful of members, including Rhodes,showed up in Newburgh, New York,on May 30, 2020, to support Minuta. ADL estimates there are between 1,000 and 3,000 Oath Keepers, though the groups influence extends well beyond that number. There are two Massachusetts elected officials listed as being members of Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group, according to the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism. Previously, Ritzheimer participated in the2014 Bundy standoff in Bunkerville. But they chose Massachusetts as the site for the group's formal launch in 2009. Strike now. Stewart Rhodes, Open Letter to President Trump: You Must Use Insurrection Act to Stop the Steal and Defeat the Coup, on the Oath Keepers website, Dec. 14, 2020, Frankly, were concerned about a Benghazi-style attack. The charges followed a March 2011 vehicle stop by the Worcester Police Department due to an invalid license plate and driving with excessive speed. WASHINGTON The founder of a right-wing group whose members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol spent about six . Once Americans are rendered defenseless, they will be enslaved by the New World Order. Some Oath Keepers have claimed that the government may even stage a terrorist attack or other incident as an excuse to declare martial law. On Nov. 14, the group attended theMillion MAGA Marchin D.C. and provided security at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 21. Most of this is derived from the Oath Keepers' list of 10 laws or mandates titled, "Declaration Of Orders We Will Not Obey." He had a duty and responsibility to step up. Shane Burley, the author ofFascism Today: What It Is and How to End It,wrote forNBC Newsthat the outcome of the trial was undoubtedly "a net benefit" for democracy. The Oath Keepers' founder, a former Army paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate named Stewart Rhodes, invited Dwyer to speak at the group's kickoff rally they called it a "muster" in Lexington, Massachusetts, the site of the "shot heard round the world" that started the Revolutionary War in 1775. how to tell someone they forgot to cc someone, dell latitude 7420 no ethernet port, paradox babyware manual pdf, quotes about justice and mercy, pauline collins daughter louise rohr, charlie ross antiques road trip elephant, ur medicine st james hospital hornell ny, best seafood buffet in georgia, sunnyside cottages grand lake, dr das psychiatrist edmonton, what happened to richard ruccolo, cern scientist disappears, john mayer engaged to heidi sutton, accident in bamber bridge today, does mindhunter use real crime scene photos,
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