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. In April 2015,Richard Lee Cook, a Nevada Oath Keeper and participant in the 2014 Bunkerville, Nevada, standoff with the government, was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, following the standoff. 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. These beliefs, which encapsulate the oneworld government conspiracy theories that underpin the antigovernment movement, stoke paranoia, fan antigovernment sentiment and give them purpose. In 2015, Rhodes said they would protect notorious Kentucky clerk Kim Davis from arrest. 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. 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 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. When questioned, Phillips allegedly told the officer that he was exempt from having to register or insure his vehicle. On Nov. 14, the group attended theMillion MAGA Marchin D.C. and provided security at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 21. We want to see a restoration of the militia in this country,Rhodes explainedon aGod and Guns podcast. Once these thugs turned to burning, killing and looting, they became domestic enemies.. The Oath Keepers are a large but loosely organized collection of antigovernment extremists; membership data is closely guarded. Two elected officials in Wilbraham and Cape Cod are listed as being members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group. 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. Stoking Fears about Antifa: Oath Keepers use the specter of antifa as a substitute for their former foe, the federal government. For example, the Oath Keepers believe that a UN Small Arms Treaty will be implemented to bypass the second Amendment and prohibit firearms. Members of the group were also indicted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. 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. 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. Luther was arrested for her violation of public health orders and fined $7,000. Ultimately, there was no standoff. 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. 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.. 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. 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. These incidents underscore the internal tension between the Oath Keepers antigovernment ideology and their focus on military and police personnel. The Interior Board of Land Appeals decided the miners were allowed to operate the mine while their appeal was being considered. But the files showed that Rhodes had tapped into a deep current of anxiety, one that could cause a surprisingly large contingent of. Thirty-nine seconds later, defendant Kelly Meggs, who was then leading about 14 Oath Keepers toward the Capitol, also called Rhodes. Jackson, an expert on far-right extremism, is a professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University of Albany in New York. 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. In response, the group posted acall to actionon its website. Previously, Ritzheimer participated in the2014 Bundy standoff in Bunkerville. And go out into public on election day, dressed to blend in with the public with video, still camera, and notepad in hand, to look for and document suspected criminal vote fraud or intimidation activities. And he made clear that it was the Democrats, not the Republicans, who might steal the election. The Center for Strategic and International Studieshas additionally outlined a large swath of the Oath Keepers' agenda. 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). Their first major showdown with the government occurred in 2011 in the town ofQuartzsite, Arizona. Extremists Engage in Political Violence During Pro-Trump Rallies, Extremists Face Arrests, Uncertain Future Following January 6 Insurrection, reference militiarelated conspiracy theories. Phillips was eventually convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. The Oath Keepers have had more success in recruiting former military personnel, which is a much larger pool to draw from; many Oath Keepers speak of past military service. Nov 7, 2022, 2:04 PM. 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.. 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). 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. . The Oath Keepers also joined scores of other anti-government extremists in a show of force for Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy during a 2014 grazing dispute with the Bureau of Land Management again with the intention of preventing the agency from enforcing laws and regulations. Oath Keepers, along with many of thesame right-wing personalitiesat these events, took part in the Capitol insurrection weeks later. 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 . 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. [1] In the United States, one of the largest forces of social conservatism is . 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. 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. From Oath Keepers Twitter: Offering protection at a Trump rally, 2019. Recently, these activities have increasingly taken the shape of natural disaster management. 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 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 January 2019, Fairfield had an additional four years added to his sentence after officials determined that he interfered with another investigation. The group is rooted in conspiracy theories, including the belief that the federal. For example, following a July 2015 attack on two separate Tennessee military facilities by Mohammad Abdulazeez, the Oath Keepers launched Operation Protect the Protectors. During this shortlived call for action, members of the Oath Keepers (as well as some others) armed themselves and stood guard outside various military recruitment centers around the nation under the pretense of guarding unarmed military recruiters. They are often confrontational and have participated in multiple armed standoffs against the government. 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. Most of this is derived from the Oath Keepers' list of 10 laws or mandates titled, "Declaration Of Orders We Will Not Obey." The Nevada-based nonprofit was founded by Yale Law School graduate and former U.S. Army paratrooper Elmer "Stewart" Rhodes. But they chose Massachusetts as the site for the group's formal launch in 2009. Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, and 10 alleged accomplices charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from January 6 Capitol riot . We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. "Even if the most extreme actors are eliminated, the consequences of their ideas could remain," Burley added. The Oath Keepers have become indelibly tied to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and their leader, . Barbeau pleaded guilty to possessing a machine gun and was sentenced to 27 months in prison in September 2017. The trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart . 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. 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. Once Americans are rendered defenseless, they will be enslaved by the New World Order. 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. Though the Oath Keepers will accept anyone as members, what differentiates them from other anti-government extremist groups is their explicit focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement and first responder personnel. 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. 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. McLamb warned of postCold War chaos perpetrated by an elitistcontrolled New World Order, while Rhodes warns of an insidious global oligarchy bent on destroying Americas constitutional republic. 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. Peoria, Arizona, January 2016: Jon Ritzheimer, a former member of the Oath Keepers, voluntarily surrendered to local authorities. 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. 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. But we will spot, document, and reportanyapparent attempt at vote fraud or voter intimidation as is our duty.. 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 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. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as unlawful enemy combatants or to subject them to military tribunal. Obviously, were not in a confrontation,David Smith, regional spokesman for the Forest Service, told the Southern Poverty Law Center. The first order, for example, that they refuse to follow is any order to disarm the American people. They also pledge to disobey any order to impose martial law or to support foreign troops on American soil. Seven of the defendants were visible wearing combat gear and participating in a tactical stack as they moved through the crowd towards the Capitol. 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 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. 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 far-right paramilitary group the Oath Keepers claims to have thousands of members across the country. In many ways, Jan. 6, 2021, was the day that Stewart Rhodes had been waiting for his whole life. The group argued that the election was stolen from Trump and participated in several Stop the Steal protests. 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. 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. In February 2015, Irish was sentenced to 18 months in prison. 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. 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