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 exchange occurred on Christmas Day in a Signal chat titled "OKFL Hangout." Before and after that day, then-Oath Keepers member Graydon Young saw the appearance by . Who Are The Oath Keepers? Militia Group, Founder Scrutinized In Capitol Watkins, a 38-year-old Army vet, is among several Oath Keepers who have been charged with conspiring and recruiting others to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress met to certify President-elect . Descendents members aren't OK with former Oath Keepers spokesman 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. During today's testimonials for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a former spokesman for the far-right militia Oath Keepers delivered his statements while sporting a T-shirt for punk band. ", "They are not a militia," he continues. Rhodes said that would give the Oath Keepers the opportunity to give the counterprotesters a good beat down. This angered and disgusted Zimmerman (who became visibly upset during his testimony). Oath Keepers also claims that the reason Democratic leaders support gun-control legislation is to allow for easy gun confiscation and make the American people both dependent and vulnerable to a takeover. [40] 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. Officer Aniello Napoli . In addition, Oath Keepers routinely pushed conspiratorial rhetoric within their communities, including promoting the ostensible effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, claiming the virus is a Chinese bioweapon, and casting the virus within a deep state globalist narrative. William Todd Wilson was charged separately. Cook had previous convictions for possessing stolen property, grand larceny and attempted possession of a controlled substance. A member of the Oath Keepers who traveled to Washington before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol testified Wednesday about a massive cache of weapons the far-right extremist group stashed in a . By Alan Feuer and Zach Montague. [71][72], 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. Lawyers for Stewart Rhodes, founder of . [48], The organization states that full membership is open to "currently serving military, reserves, National Guard, police, fire-fighters, other first responders (i.e. The organization has publicly labeled lockdown measures Orwellian violations of liberty and urges their members to defy these measures. Top Posts for April 28, 2022 - Page 251 Who is Stewart Rhodes? Oath Keepers founder offered to - CBS News Investigators are also looking into adding sedition to the list of charges they face. Oath Keepers Leader Bought Arsenal of Weapons Ahead of Jan. 6 He was subsequently convicted of knowingly transmitting a threatening communication and received an eightmonth sentence. 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. Usually these calls for security go unanswered, and merely serve as displays of support for various causes and a means of garnering attention. 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. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as unlawful enemy combatants or to subject them to military tribunal. According to a grand jury indictment from the District of Columbia charging some of the members, Oath Keepers were among a large crowd that stormed the Capitol building. In 2012, he was convicted of raping his seven-year-old daughter. Samuel Corum/GI. 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. They will argue at their seditious conspiracy trial that was their lawful . State Guard, Sheriff Posse/Auxiliary, Search & Rescue, EMT, other medical 1st responders, etc.) [89], On September 27, 2022, jury selection began in the trial of Rhodes, Meggs, Harrelson, Watkins, and Caldwell. 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. Kelly Meggs (R) founder of the Florida Oath Keepers from Dunnellon, Florida and husband to Oath Keeper Connie Meggs. As the election neared, Rhodes ratcheted up his rhetoric. A number of Oath Keepers members or associates are under investigation for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 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. He covers news, entertainment, and pop-culture topics. Pouvnm tohoto webu s tm souhlaste. seditious conspiracy prosecution of five members of the Oath Keepers organization, Oath Keepers leader on trial says group should have brought rifles on Jan. 6, Former Oath Keeper says group's leader may have contacted Secret Service at Jan. 6 trial. Did OJ Simpson's Son Jason Kill Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman? Rather than rely on the government, Oath Keepers have assisted following natural disasters across the United States and Puerto Rico since 2017, using these efforts to garner positive press coverage. "[28][29] Oath Keepers was founded in March 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes,[30][31][32] a Yale Law School graduate, former U.S. Army paratrooper, and former staffer for Republican Congressman Ron Paul. [108], An article posted to the organization's official website on April 14, 2016, stated that if Hillary Clinton won the 2016 United States presidential election, "the result would probably be outright civil war in the U.S."[109][110] Later in 2016, Stewart Rhodes called on members to visit polling places incognito to "hunt down" and document suspected voter fraud. Even with a few members here and there charged and indicted by the government, there seems to be no end to their engagement in US politics in sight. 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. Militia Group, Founder Scrutinized In Capitol Riot Probe", "The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States", "Press Release: ADL Report Exposes Tactics of Anti-Government "Oath Keepers", "The Oath Keepers Anti-Government Extremists Recruiting Military and Police", "Oath Keepers Rally Reveals Radical Politics of Group", "Evidence Grows of Far-Right Militia Resurgence", "Are the Oath Keepers Fighting 'Martial Law'? Herndon, Virginia, July 2013: Gun rights activist and Oath Keeper Adam Kokesh was arrested in Washington, D.C., on weapon charges after a search warrant on his Virginia home turned up firearms and illegal drugs. 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. Yet the testimony of Zimmerman, Rasheed and Adams already has meaning beyond the trial. "[80], Twelve Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy. Oath Keepers Jury Told of Massive Weapons Cache on Jan. 6 - NECN But when proof of guilt is strong, it is entirely usual for defense attorneys to attack the investigators. Descendents slap down former Oath Keeper sporting band T-shirt at - MSN 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. According to Zimmerman, Rhodes suggested that they attend the march dressed as elderly, vulnerable people, carrying canes and the like, to bait counterprotesters like antifa and BLM to attack them. "I felt it as like a Bastille-type moment in history," Young recalled Monday, as he testified at trial against Oath Keepers founder . In July of 2015, the association launched Operation Protect the Protectors, a call-to-action to stand guard outside various military recruitment centers around the nation with the intention of protecting unarmed military recruiters in the wake of attacks on Tennessee military facilities by Mohammad Abdulazeez. In addition to Rhodes, ten other Oath Keepers - nine of whom were already facing conspiracy charges relating to the attack - were . 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. So, yes, the evidence of guilt is quite strong. Data Leak Appears to Reveal 133 Oath Keepers with Ties to U.S. Military This change brought them in line with other militia groups that were taking a hardline approach in opposing public health efforts to curb the pandemic. Former Oath Keeper wears Descendents shirt to Jan. 6 hearing - Los On December 2, 2014, volunteer security guards associated with the Oath Keepers kept armed watch on Ferguson rooftops, ignoring a police order to stop. Top Posts for May 4, 2022 - Page 74 - reddit.com 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. "[34][35][36], On December 8, 2015, Rhodes was disbarred by the Montana Supreme Court 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. S.W.A.T. [16] The FBI describes the Oath Keepers as a "paramilitary 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. [49][4], Oath Keepers claimed 35,000 members in 2016, though researchers estimated the figure was about 5,000. Links Oath Keepers and Proud Boys Ahead of Capitol Riot", "Prosecutors Use Gateway Pundit Interview, 'Magnetic Locks' Conspiracy Theory Against Marine Veteran Charged in Oath Keepers Case", "Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil", "Fourth Oath Keeper in Capitol riot pleads guilty, cooperates with FBI", "January 6 committee subpoenas Proud Boys and Oath Keepers", "Oath Keepers sharing with January 6 investigators their efforts to find election fraud, communications with Trump allies", "DOJ charges 11 Oath Keepers, including leader, with seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol attack", "READ: Seditious conspiracy indictment related to US Capitol attack", "Leader of North Carolina Chapter of Oath Keepers Pleads Guilty to Seditious Conspiracy and Obstruction of Congress for Efforts to Stop Transfer of Power Following 2020 Presidential Election", "Oath Keeper pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy and will cooperate with Justice Department", "Member of Georgia Chapter of Oath Keepers Pleads Guilty to Seditious Conspiracy and Obstruction of Congress for Efforts to Stop Transfer of Power Following 2020 Presidential Election", "Oath Keeper members brought explosives to DC area around January 6 and had a 'death list,' prosecutors say", "Justice Department doesn't want Oath Keepers to blame Trump at trial", "Historic trial for Oath Keepers leader and his top lieutenants over January 6 set to begin | CNN Politics", "Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four codefendants face jury in highest-profile Jan. 6 trial", "Jury seated in high-profile Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial after three days of questioning", "Witness: Oath Keepers head tried to reach Trump after Jan. 6", "Trial bumped for Dunnellon woman charged alongside husband in Capitol attack", "Titusville man and Oath Keepers' founder face new charges of sedition for Capitol riot role", "New charges accuse Ohio bartender of sedition with leader of the Oath Keepers in attack on U.S. Capitol", "Virginia man among Oath Keepers charged in seditious conspiracy during Jan. 6 Capitol riot", "Federal rangers face off against armed protesters in Nevada 'range war', "Bundy ranch dispute with federal land agency draws variety of foot soldiers", "Oregon mine that summoned armed guards in land dispute files appeal", "Armed protesters gather at Medford BLM office over Sugar Pine Mine dispute", "Constitution advocates issue cease, desist order at mine", "Dispatch from White Hope Mine dispute in Montana", "Guns banned from Saturday's 'Patriot Prayer' in San Francisco", "Oath Keepers confirm militia will attend controversial Crissy Field rally", "Oath Keepers Website Warns Clinton Victory Could Lead To 'Outright Civil War', "The Weirdest Possible Outcomes For The Strangest Election In U.S. History", "Militia group calls on members to patrol polls on Election Day", "Militia threat shuts down Oregon Statehouse amid walkout", "Saturday Senate session canceled after potential threat of militia protest violence", "Oregon Capitol building closed as precaution amid partisan dispute", "Let's Check In on Those Oregon Republicans Who Fled the Capital, Shall We? Athletes of the Week: Oak Hills' Karson Cox and ACE's Kayleigh Dupree Rasheed testified that he joined the Oath Keepers but participated primarily by attending online conference calls and meetings. [136] Subsequently, an hour-long videotaped speech made by Page to an Oath Keepers meeting was found on YouTube. Turn on gas." [40], In 2009 Oath Keepers was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in Nevada,[41] but there is no record of it receiving tax-exempt status from the IRS, making any donations to the organization non-tax deductible. 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. Two NYPD cops probed over alleged ties to Oath Keepers - New York Post Oath Keepers: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com A federal jury convicted him on the carrying a firearm charge but acquitted him of using a firearm in relation to another felony. 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. The founder of the Oath Keepers and other leaders of the self-styled militia organization were in contact with Secret Service officials multiple times in late 2020 and leading up to the attack on . Eleven were charged together in January 2022. [123], In 2015, the Oathkeepers website republished an opinion piece by Brandon Smith claiming that, "[]there is no such thing as white privilege or male privilege: In reality, there is only institutionalized 'privilege' for victim-status groups. "[140] Following the deaths during protests in Kenosha and the George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, Rhodes referred to antifa and Black Lives Matter protestors as attempting an "open Communist insurrection". They expect the same from government officials, both appointed and elected. [21][22], Members of the group participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. The Republican state senators had gone into hiding to prevent a vote on a cap-and-trade proposal aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in order to combat climate change. Members of the Oath Keepers on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Federal prosecutors indicated Friday they intend to present evidence that a member of the Oath Keepers likely carried grenades in an RV that he drove to the Washington, D.C., area ahead of the Jan . Nonetheless, shortly after 2:00 p.m., crowd members forced entry into the Capitol building by breaking windows, ramming open doors, and assaulting Capitol Police officers.. Research on their membership determined that two-thirds of the Oath Keepers are former military or law enforcement, and one tenth are active duty military or law enforcement. As previously mentioned, many of their members have been linked with the Capitol riots in January. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps. Read Messages Oath Keepers Sent After Trump's December Meeting - Newsweek 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. How A Serbian Scientist Helped Inspire Jan. 6 - TPM An attorney for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes argued Friday that despite his client's "rhetoric and bombast," he never instructed his followers to enter the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 . (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) When . A member of the Oath Keepers who traveled to Washington before the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol testified during the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, about a massive cache of weapons the far-right extremist . 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. Now, Thomas E. Caldwell, Jessica M. Watkins and Donovan Crowl, all members of the organizations, are among the 400 or so people charged with entering the Capitol illegally and assaulting police officers.

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