0:57. As part of their support for President Trump, the Oath Keepers have decried the deep state, an alleged network of institutions and bureaucracies within the federal government that a range of right-wing actors and groups believe is trying to undermine and even destroy the Trump administration. 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. The Nevada-based nonprofit was founded by Yale Law School graduate and former U.S. Army paratrooper Elmer "Stewart" Rhodes. 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. 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. 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. 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 . The main crux of the groups messaging asserts that the government is engaged in attacks against its own citizens, working to strip them of their civil liberties. This sentiment is encapsulated in the socalled Oath Keepers Pledge, which they ask all members and supporters to take. 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. 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. The Second Amendment Under Assault: Oath Keepers call for the nullification of all gun laws and view any gun control measures as schemes designed to dismantle the Second Amendment. Most of this is derived from the Oath Keepers' list of 10 laws or mandates titled, "Declaration Of Orders We Will Not Obey." 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). 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. This is a matter of national security and also a matter of national survival. But the Hammonds said they were planning on reporting to prison, did not want their help and asked them to return to Nevada. 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. In June 2017, Oath Keepers participated in March Against Sharia rallies organized by ACT for America, an anti-immigrant hate 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. A few days later, he was arrested after police found a shotgun and illegal drugs in his Virginia home. 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 Oath Keepers believe that the military and law enforcement members of their group will eventually stop the New World Order. Members of the Oath Keepers have been arrested in connection with a wide range of criminal activities, including various firearms violations, conspiracy to impede federal workers, possession of explosives, and threatening public officials. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the . Amplifying Fears of the Deep State: Though the Oath Keepers espouse an anti-government ideology, the Oath Keepers largely support President Trump and his administration. 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. 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. Founder Stewart Rhodes is a former Montana attorney and Army veteran who acts as the groups main spokesperson. 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. 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. In September 2014, following an Alford plea by Kokesh, a Fairfax County, Virginia, judge ordered a suspended sentence for the warrantrelated felony drug and gun charges. Peoria, Arizona, January 2016: Jon Ritzheimer, a former member of the Oath Keepers, voluntarily surrendered to local authorities. 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. Thirty-nine seconds later, defendant Kelly Meggs, who was then leading about 14 Oath Keepers toward the Capitol, also called Rhodes. Phillips was eventually convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Providing Security: The Oath Keepers frequently solicit volunteers to provide security in a variety of different contexts. 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. Membership has never actually required current or former ties with military, police, or first responders. Me? Since then, the Oath Keepers have become a household name across the country. Stoking fears of Black Lives Matter as part of Marxist NWO program: Oath Keepers have framed the civil rights movement that emerged following the death of George Floyd as part of a Marxist agenda that they allege is being used to destroy the United States. 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. Some looming UN transgressions anticipated by Oath Keepers include the implementation of global taxation and a global currency that would end the use of the dollar. At the beginning of the global pandemic, Oath Keepers called on President Trump to immediately shut down all commercial airline traffic as well as schools and public places in order to slow the spread of the virus, but by April the organization adopted anti-lockdown rhetoric. 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. Obviously, were not in a confrontation,David Smith, regional spokesman for the Forest Service, told the Southern Poverty Law Center. 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. When some of. 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. The majority of these conspiracies, including the existence of a New World Order, have been debunked. Bay County, Florida, October 2018: A group identifying themselves as Oath Keepers were arrested after violating curfew and for openly carrying a firearm. The driving theory behind the Oath Keepers is that the federal government has been overtaken by a mass liberal conspiracy in an effort to strip Americans of their rights. In February 2015,Matthew Opaliski, a member of the Oath Keepers, previous leader of the Sussex County, Delaware, Republican Party, and former three-time Delaware state Senate candidate wasindicted on gun charges, including dealing firearms without a license and unlawfully transferring firearms. In April 2010,Darren Huff, a militia member and Oath Keeper, was arrested on a firearms charge after he traveled from Georgia to Tennessee to put certain government officials under citizens arrest for refusing to indict President Obama. 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. The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper who was honourably discharged after suffering an injury in a training exercise. Neither do we. In the days leading up to the 2016 election, the organization issued a call to action seeking volunteers to position themselves at polling stations to ensure that the left did not steal the election from then-candidate Donald Trump, and since his election they have expressed support for the president, largely redirecting their ire away from the federal government and towards the broader left. Dyer was extradited back to Oklahoma and subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison. 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. Men sporting gear identifying them as Oath Keepers are among the massive crowds gathering in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, 2021. 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. However, there were no such orders from Trump, and this defense from the Oath Keepers was swiftly rebuked in court, eventually leading to Rhodes and four others' guilty verdict. 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. From Oath Keepers Twitter: Offering protection at a Trump rally, 2019. 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. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to keep the peace or to maintain control.. Stewart Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, with a mission to resist unlawful exercises of government power. Antigovernment rhetoric energized his defense and underpinned his lack of cooperation in the case. In November 2017, Ritzheimer was sentenced to spend a year and a day in federal prison. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext. Members of the group were also indicted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. 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. But it remains to be seen what the effects will be of putting Rhodes behind bars. Springdale, Washington, December 2015: Schuyler Barbeau, who was filmed in at least one video while wearing Oath Keeper attire and shared several posts in favor of Oath Keeper Charles Dyer (see below), was arrested after he tried to sell a short-barreled rifle he had converted into an illegal machine gun to an individual secretly working with law enforcement. 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. In June 2020, a police officer who was on duty and policing a George Floyd protest inCosta Mesa, California, was caught donning a Three Percenterpatch with the words Oath Keeper.This is one example of a larger trend and strategy among antigovernment extremist groups to recruit and infiltrate law enforcement and military organizations. Such behavior was in line with the Oath Keepers efforts to focus on opposing state governments rather than the Trump administration. 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. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is seen on video during the hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in . 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. On July 4, 2013,Adam Kokesh, an Oath Keeper who had promoted the group on his Internet talk show, loaded a shotgun in D.C.s Freedom Plaza in protest of the citys gun laws. Usually these calls for security go unanswered, and merely serve as displays of support for various causes and a means of garnering attention. 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. 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. Cook had previous convictions for possessing stolen property, grand larceny and attempted possession of a controlled substance. 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. 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. Luther was arrested for her violation of public health orders and fined $7,000. We dont want to see things escalate, especially over an issue that we have been working all along in a very cooperative way to resolve. Ultimately, again, no real confrontation occurred. 2022 Anti-Defamation League. 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 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. 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. 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. Because the government ultimately stood down in the face of armed threats from Bundys defenders, the standoff wound up being a highlight of the radical right but one that the Oath Keepers got no glory from. But we will spot, document, and reportanyapparent attempt at vote fraud or voter intimidation as is our duty.. 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. 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 material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. A handful of members, including Rhodes,showed up in Newburgh, New York,on May 30, 2020, to support Minuta. This estimated size would still make the Oath Keepers larger than any single traditional militia group. The "oath" they have sworn to keep is the oath they once took as police officers and soldiers to "support and defend the constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies foreign. 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 stationed themselves on rooftops and conducted street patrols, asserting that they were there to protect local businesses and reporters from angry protesters. The group's name refers to the oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic," sworn by members of the U.S. military and police force. 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. Protests broke out in the city following the grand jurys decision not to indict Wilson. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. This stance is not a new one for the Oath Keepers. 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. Barclay later said the BLM would have destroyed his mine if he had not called for help. 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. Rhodes wasdisbarredafter practicing law in Arizona without a license by writing letters threatening a lawsuit on behalf of the ejected residents. The Oath Keepers regularly denounce FEMA and their response to natural disasters, highlighting notable failures during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey. The group argued that the election was stolen from Trump and participated in several Stop the Steal protests. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a state of emergency on a state. 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. 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. The Oath Keepers have been linked to incidents of violence, including last year's Capitol riots. organization adopted anti-lockdown rhetoric. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism received more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists, according to the Associated Press. Oath Keepers claimed they were providing security for rally goers against imagined threats from the left. 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. They are often confrontational and have participated in multiple armed standoffs against the government. 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 Oath Keepers view themselves as defenders of the U.S. Constitution, but organizations that monitor right-wing extremists say the group is a dangerous militia. We think a good first step is to have the veterans stand up in every community and go help form and train neighborhood watches, to get the people to take back into their own hands their own personal self-defense and security.. More recently, the Oath Keepers have offered armed security to individuals attending Trump Rallies, Free Speech rallies and other pro-Trump events. They also offered security to business owners who defied COVID-19 public health safety measures. Ultimately, there was no standoff. 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. 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. 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 . 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. CPTs are armed community teams, or militias, meant to prepare for disasters, natural or otherwise, and defend Americans against the New World Order. 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. 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. 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. The Nevada-basednonprofitwas founded by Yale Law School graduate and former U.S. Army paratrooperElmerStewart Rhodes. 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. "While legal methods like lawsuits have proven effective, and prosecutions have dismantled some of the most dangerous far-right terrorist groups, the effort to fully unseat the rise of white nationalism willonly come from a mass wave of organized resistance. 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. 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. They even ventured into QAnon territory, adopting and circulating QAnon-related conspiracies on their website. However, a minority of Oath Keepers are so antiauthoritarian that they have been less willing to express support for law enforcement. A federal jury convicted him on the carrying a firearm charge but acquitted him of using a firearm in relation to another felony. When two ranchers near Burns, Oregon, were ordered back to prison for arson of public lands after an appeals court decided their initial sentences were too short, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, sons of Cliven, got involved. 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 have advertised various anti-lockdown events and calls to action, for example protesting outside of a Dallas-based judges home to demand the immediate release of a business owner who had defied lockdown orders. 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.

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