Stewart Rhodes, the leader of . In February 2015, Irish was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The Oath Keepers found members in all corners of Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to the Cape and Islands. The Oath Keepers organization claims to be defending the U.S. Constitution and fighting tyranny, but as former Oath Keepers spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove describes, the group is actually selling the revolution. The threats to American liberties that Oath Keepers say the federal government is responsible for are in reality a set of baseless conspiracy theories. In many ways, Jan. 6, 2021, was the day that Stewart Rhodes had been waiting for his whole life. Ultimately, there was no standoff. 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. 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. Rhodes eventually left his job at the court and began looking toward forming an anti-government movement. He would deny you the right for trial to jury, but we would give him a trial by jury. 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). The Oath Keepers regularly denounce FEMA and their response to natural disasters, highlighting notable failures during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey. This includes disobeying any law that would "disarm the American people," any efforts to impose martial law, any orders to invade a state that "asserts its sovereignty," any efforts to confiscate property from Americans, and more. Antifa is a loose collection of groups, networks and individuals who believe in active, sometimes aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty. Members have provided security for events and individuals promoting Stop the Steal after the 2020 election, including Roger Stone. Protests broke out in the city following the grand jurys decision not to indict Wilson. The standoff with federal and other law enforcement agencies lasted 41 days. This includes targeting military and veterans' groups, police officers, and other law enforcement divisions, as opposed to other far-right groups who tend to target a general audience. Its better to wage it with you as Commander-in-Chief than to have you comply with a fraudulent election, leave office, and leave the White House in the hands of illegitimate usurpers and Chinese puppets. organization adopted anti-lockdown rhetoric. We are already in a fight. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps. 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. 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.. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. 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 . We are, indeed, most concerned about expected attempts at voter fraud by leftists, Rhodes said. 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. 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. He also discussed the possibility of a second civil war and said that his battle-hardened supporters were prepared to fight the street soldiers of the radical left.. 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. 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. This sentiment is encapsulated in the socalled Oath Keepers Pledge, which they ask all members and supporters to take. It focuses on a concern with moral and social values which proponents of the ideology see as degraded in modern society by liberalism. 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. 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 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. Barclay later said the BLM would have destroyed his mine if he had not called for help. For a dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy theorist who had been planning for dystopian collapse for . In June 2017, Oath Keepers participated in March Against Sharia rallies organized by ACT for America, an anti-immigrant hate group. Members told us at least 40 Oath Keepers were at the January 6 rally with some seen providing security to Trump associate Roger Stone. 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. 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. Examples of these orders include the government imposing martial law, confiscating citizens guns and forcing Americans into concentration camps. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Rhodes formally launched the Oath. When executing a search warrant, law enforcement officers discovered a live napalm bomb and dozens of other explosives in a storage locker; he eventually was indicted on 97 different charges, including 18 counts of unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, 23 counts of receiving stolen property, 23 counts of possession of criminal tools, 10 counts of failure to secure dangerous ordnance, one count of perjury, and 21 counts of pandering obscenity involving child pornography. 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. 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. After the results of the 2020 election were announced, Rhodes and the Oath Keepers urged Trump to use the Insurrection Act to maintain his position of power and reject the results of the election. He should be tried for treason before a jury of his peers which he would deny you. 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. 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. 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 . Two elected officials in Wilbraham and Cape Cod are listed as being members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group. Armed confrontations with federal authorities during land disputes: The Oath Keepers have issued calls for action during disputes between ranchers or miners and federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Extremists Engage in Political Violence During Pro-Trump Rallies, Extremists Face Arrests, Uncertain Future Following January 6 Insurrection, reference militiarelated conspiracy theories. As Rhodes tweeted in early March 2020, Its critical that towns and counties do all they can with their own resources now to prepare. 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. The head of their group is not escaping justice that much is certain. 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. For example, the Oath Keepers believe that a UN Small Arms Treaty will be implemented to bypass the second Amendment and prohibit firearms. At the same time, Oath Keepers have also organized or participated in armed confrontations with law enforcement in different parts of the country, such as the Bundy Ranch standoff in Nevada in 2014. However, a minority of Oath Keepers are so antiauthoritarian that they have been less willing to express support for law enforcement. 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. 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. When questioned, Phillips allegedly told the officer that he was exempt from having to register or insure his vehicle. 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. 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