At least nine people associated with the Oath Keepers have been. The pro-gun group was named after the oath of service that police, military. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the . Stoking Fears about Antifa: Oath Keepers use the specter of antifa as a substitute for their former foe, the federal government. Rhodes has said that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to preserve the ability of the people, who are the militia, to provide for their own security and to preserve the military capacity of the American people to resist tyranny and violations of their rights by oath breakers within government. Another Oath Keeper theory claims the Veterans Administration is busily deeming veterans mentally unfit in order to legally disarm Americans trained to fight, thereby paving the way for a foreign (New World Order) takeover. On July 26, 2013, upon posting bail and being released from jail, Kokesh was re-arrested on charges related to the Freedom Plaza stunt by violating a D.C. gun law that prohibits carrying a firearm outside of ones home. 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.. As part of a December 2014 plea agreement, Irish admitted to lying to authorities. 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. Prior to his arrest, Dyer had posted a YouTube video in which Dyer, a former Marine, said, Join the military? We are already in a fight. 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. 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. The organization has publicly labeled lockdown measures Orwellian violations of liberty and urges their members to defy these measures. Simply put: because many of them were reportedly there. Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, and 10 alleged accomplices charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from January 6 Capitol riot . When some 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. At least 20 members of the group were eventually accused of conspiring to block President Biden's election certification, including Rhodes and four of his top associates. In return, prosecutors agreed not to reimpose the other three charges, which had been recently dropped, against Irish. 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. 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 . A few days later, he was arrested after police found a shotgun and illegal drugs in his Virginia home. Such behavior was in line with the Oath Keepers efforts to focus on opposing state governments rather than the Trump administration. 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. Several Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, have been hit with seditious. Thirty-nine seconds later, defendant Kelly Meggs, who was then leading about 14 Oath Keepers toward the Capitol, also called Rhodes. 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. 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. Overreaching laws or regulations are also expected. A handful of members, including Rhodes,showed up in Newburgh, New York,on May 30, 2020, to support Minuta. It ended when officials arrested the Bundys and others at a roadblock near the refuge. This eventually led to a number of Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, allegedly participating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. As Rhodes tweeted in early March 2020, Its critical that towns and counties do all they can with their own resources now to prepare. In 2015, armed Oath Keepers along with various individuals from the broader Patriot movement traveled to mines in Montana and Oregon during regulation compliance disputes related to mining rights versus surface rights in the hopes that their presence would intimidate federal officials from taking action. Despite this clear evidence of involvement, themilitia movementhas by and large not reckoned with the role their conspiratorial beliefs and violent rhetoric played in the leadup to the insurrection. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a state of emergency on a state. They are often confrontational and have participated in multiple armed standoffs against the government. The events of Jan. 6 also highlighted fresh . Members of the group were also indicted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. He would deny you the right for trial to jury, but we would give him a trial by jury. But the files showed that Rhodes had tapped into a deep current of anxiety, one that could cause a surprisingly large contingent of. 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. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Founder Stewart Rhodes is a former Montana attorney and Army veteran who acts as the groups main spokesperson. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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 Eventually, 10 Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, were indicted on seditious conspiracy charges. 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). However, a minority of Oath Keepers are so antiauthoritarian that they have been less willing to express support for law enforcement. The Oath Keepers found members in all corners of Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to the Cape and Islands. 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. Kokesh entered an Alford plea and was given a suspended sentence for the initial drug and gun charges. As the election neared, Rhodes ratcheted up his rhetoric. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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. 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. Protests broke out in the city following the grand jurys decision not to indict Wilson. 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. News never stops. 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. Once Americans are rendered defenseless, they will be enslaved by the New World Order. 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. Along with the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters, the Oath Keepers are among the most prominent, heavily armed extremists known to have taken part in the deadly mob that tried to delay. 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. 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. 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. 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