
Oath Keepers
Key Statistics
Profile Contents



Organizational Overview
Formed: 2009
Disbanded: Group is active.
First Attack: April 2014: Members of the Oath Keepers, including OK leader Stewart Rhodes, joined anti-government activists from around the United States in an armed standoff with U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents in Bunkerville, Nevada, in support of rancher Cliven Bundy. The militants aimed to prevent BLM from confiscating Bundy’s cattle due to his refusal to pay grazing fees. This was OK’s first major operation (no casualties).
Last Attack: January 6, 2021: TheOath Keepers participated in storming the U.S. Capitol along with the Three Percenters, Proud Boys, adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and other supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. According to a bipartisan U.S. Senate report, the Capitol assault led to the deaths of three police officers and four protesters. Importantly, this death toll does not include the two Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the Capitol riot and who died by suicide in July 2021, a month after the Senate report was released. 140 police officers were injured, while the number of rioters injured is unknown (7 killed, at least 140 wounded).
Executive Summary
Founded in 2009, the Oath Keepers (OK) is one of the largest and most prominent organizations of the militia/patriot movement with chapters across the United States. 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. With a focus on recruiting former military and law enforcement personnel, the group seeks to protect Americans from what it perceives to be an encroachment of the federal government on citizens’ rights. The group is known for participating in armed standoffs with federal agents, armed intimidation of protestors, and individual criminal acts. OK members draw heavily on historical memory of the American Revolution by portraying themselves as the heirs of the Founding Fathers. The OK attend events with other organizations that endorse anti-government and white supremacist ideologies, though OK founder, Stuart Rhodes, called the group “not racists of any kind.”[1] In 2016, OK aligned itself with the administration of President Donald Trump and in opposition to the anti-fascist (antifa) movement. OK is politically active, and several members of the organization were elected to public office on the state and local levels. The group played a major role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to prevent the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Group Narrative
2009-2014: Early Beginnings
Elmer Stewart Rhodes (known commonly as Stewart Rhodes) founded the Oath Keepers (OK) in early 2009. Rhodes is a U.S. Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate. The group grew from Rhodes’ concerns about alleged federal government violations of the rights of American citizens. An article Rhodes published in April 2008 in S.W.A.T. magazine titled “Enemy at the Gates” highlights his fearful view of the government. Imagining a world in which Hillary Clinton were elected president of the United States, he predicted that “Herr Hitlery” would declare a national emergency and use it as a pretext to seize firearms, condemn American patriots to military detention, and leverage the powers of the federal government to become a dictator.[2] Rhodes parlayed the attention he received into speaking slots at conferences during the rise of the Tea Party backlash to Barack Obama’s presidency.[3] About a year later, he founded his own group with the goal of preventing his apocalyptic vision from becoming reality.
On April 19, 2009, Rhodes held a rally in Lexington, Massachusetts to announce the founding of the organization and proclaim the “Declaration of Orders We Will Not Obey,” a list of ten supposed edicts expected to be given by a tyrannical federal government.[4] The orders invoke conspiracy theories such as detention camps to intern U.S. citizens, the stationing of foreign troops on U.S. soil, and mass confiscation of firearms.[5] The Oath Keepers was founded on the belief that the federal government could – and would, given the right circumstances – engage in such oppression.
Rhodes opens the declaration with a quote from a speech George Washington gave to his troops: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be Freemen, or Slaves.”[6] He then states that “such a time is near at hand again,” drawing an urgent parallel between his group’s opposition to the U.S. federal government and the American colonists’ struggle against Great Britain.[7] Members of OK consider the federal government to be a tyrannical threat to Americans’ rights and seek to safeguard the group’s perception of the Constitution. The name “Oath Keepers” refers to the oath taken by members of the military and law enforcement to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”[8]
The date and location of OK’s first demonstration are significant. Along with the Battle of Concord, the Battle of Lexington was the first clash of the American Revolution and occurred on April 19, 1775, exactly 234 years before the public launch of the Oath Keepers. For more information on OK’s ideology and its self-association with the American Revolution, please see the Ideology and Goals section of this profile. OK is a pre-eminent organization of the anti-government patriot/militia movement, a type of extremism that considers the federal government to be the greatest threat to American liberty. Adherents to this ideology fear that the U.S. government collaborates with global elites, often termed the New World Order, to erode U.S. citizens’ freedoms. Though some individual members adhere to racist beliefs, OK, along with other anti-government patriot/militia groups are not generally organized around principles of white supremacism.[9]
Rhodes spent the first year of OK’s existence focused on recruitment. On July 4, 2009, early Oath Keepers members fanned out to thirty Tea Party rallies across the United States to encourage attendees to take the group’s oath.[10] In October, OK held its first national conference, in Las Vegas, which approximately 100 people attended.[11] OK’s recruitment efforts particularly targeted current members of the U.S. military and law enforcement. In fall 2009, Rhodes organized a campaign to assemble care packages with an Oath Keepers patch and DVD to send to active-duty military personnel between Veterans Day (November 11) and Bill of Rights Day (December 15).[12] Also in 2009, a Texas constable (an elected position similar to that of a sheriff), sent emails urging local police officers in the Fort Worth area to join.[13] By 2010, Rhodes claimed that the group boasted members in every U.S. state.[14] That year, about a dozen OK members ran for sheriff, most in Western states including California, Colorado, and Montana, beginning a years-long pattern of OK members running for public office.[15] For more information on the Oath Keepers and electoral politics in the United States, see the Political Activities section of this profile.
OK’s ideological alignment with the Three Percenters (III%ers), a loosely organized group active in the U.S. patriot/militia movement, also began around this time. The founder of the III%ers, Mike Vanderboegh, attended Rhodes’s April 19, 2009, ceremony in Lexington.[16] Additionally, at least two members of OK were seen carrying III%ers flags at an October 2009 demonstration against the Obama administration in Washington, D.C.[17] OK’s relationship with the Three Percenters is significant. The two groups have coordinated in operations including standoffs with federal agents and armed patrols at anti-Muslim protests. OK and the III%ers both played a major role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on January 6, 2021.
Within a year of the group’s founding, members of OK voiced an intent to use violence against the U.S. government. In April 2009, Daniel Knight Hayden, a 52-year-old man living in Oklahoma, posted a series of tweets threatening to kill police officers at the Oklahoma State Capitol during a Tax Day protest in order to start a war against the U.S. government.[18] Hayden self-identified as a member of the Oath Keepers.[19] According to Wired.com, Hayden’s case was the first criminal prosecution that resulted from posts on Twitter.[20] He was sentenced to eight months in prison in February 2010.[21] In April 2010, Darren Wesley Huff, a member of the Oath Keepers and a group known as the Georgia Militia, was arrested en route to a Tennessee courthouse with ammunition and loaded firearms.[22] A minister belonging to the Christian Identity movement, Huff planned to take over the courthouse and arrest local Tennessee officials who refused to indict President Obama on birther claims.[23] He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.[24]
Criminal activity was not limited to rank-and-file members of the Oath Keepers. A month after Huff’s plot was foiled, Matthew Fairfield, president of an Oath Keepers chapter in Cleveland, Ohio, was arrested for explosives and child pornography charges.[25] Investigators found a live napalm bomb and other explosives in his possession. Fairfield was sentenced to sixteen years in prison in 2011.[26] It is unclear whether these individuals were connected to other members of OK or the group’s leadership. In 2011, Rhodes characterized the Oath Keepers as a group dedicated to educating members of the military and law enforcement about their duty to uphold the Constitution. He also claimed that “the entire point of [the group] is to advocate nonviolence.”[27]
Hayden, Huff, and Fairfield notwithstanding, OK generally remained fairly obscure for the first several years of its existence. Between 2009 and 2014, the organization participated in few major operations. In 2011, Rhodes and other OK members marched on the town hall in Quartzsite, Arizona, ostensibly to prevent the police chief from imposing martial law after a dispute with the town’s mayor.[28] In October 2013, Rhodes announced the launch of OK’s Community Preparedness Teams, or CPT, program (initially “Civilization Preservation Teams”). By establishing the CPTs, Rhodes sought to position the Oath Keepers as a positive, nonthreatening organization. The CPTs are essentially an armed neighborhood watch, composed of groups of OK members pledged to provide security and emergency services to local communities after natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other events.[29] CPTs have conducted paramilitary training on topics including weapons skills, patrolling techniques, and emergency relief.[30]
2014-2016: Rise to Prominence within the Patriot/Militia Movement
After several quiet years, the Oath Keepers came to national attention in April 2014 when the group participated in an armed standoff with federal agents in Bunkerville, Nevada. When the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) attempted to confiscate some of rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle per a federal court order over unpaid grazing fees, Bundy called for the patriot/militia movement to help him defy BLM.[31] Hundreds of activists from around the country flocked to Bundy’s ranch, including members of the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, in one of the largest assemblies of anti-government extremists seen in recent decades.[32] Estimates of attendance reached up to 1,000. Bundy’s supporters traveled from states as far as Georgia, New Hampshire, and Virginia.[33] The OK contingent at Bundy’s ranch included Rhodes and Richard Mack, a retired sheriff from Arizona who served as a longtime board member of the Oath Keepers until 2015.[34] Mack also founded the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), a group of sheriffs who support the patriot/militia movement.[35]
The standoff lasted for several days and climaxed with a direct confrontation between BLM personnel and armed Bundy supporters. The militants came within shooting distance of the outnumbered federal agents.[36] Fearing that employees’ lives were in danger, BLM withdrew and ended its attempt to seize Bundy’s cattle.[37] During the standoff, OK claimed to be ready for violence. Mack said that they “were prepared to do whatever it takes” to defend Bundy and claimed that Bundy’s supporters “were actually strategizing to put all the women up at the front” so that news coverage of the standoff would show federal agents shooting women.[38] “This might go down in history as the first engagement of the modern American revolution,” Rhodes said of the campaign.[39]
The armed confrontation at the Bundy Ranch was a turning point for the Oath Keepers. Prior to 2014, Rhodes’s fledgling group was not highly active or visible. OK’s handling of the standoff, however, catapulted it to prominence in the patriot/militia movement. Rhodes took advantage of the opportunities for free publicity. He gave press conferences and appeared on TV news, making sure to wear the group’s branded clothing and display the group’s flag.[40] New members flocked to OK, and donations surged, though by how much is unclear.[41] OK initially promised to financially support other patriot/militia groups in the wake of its fundraising success. However, OK did not follow through on this promise, and local groups in Nevada responded by barring OK from returning to the area.[42]
In the years after the Bundy Ranch standoff, OK’s activity skyrocketed. Adopting a more interventionist posture, OK organized several major operations in response to perceived threats from the federal government and violence related to protests against police brutality. Such operations appear to have been motivated less by ideological reasons than by the desire to attract attention. Indeed, Rhodes’s critics have said that OK’s increasing appetite for conflict was a strategy orchestrated by the group’s leadership. Intervention in inflammatory or attention-grabbing situations awarded OK with more airtime and newspaper headlines – fueling donations, membership applications, and demand for OK’s branded merchandise.[43] Joseph Rice, leader of a former OK faction in Oregon that broke away from the national organization, described OK’s tactics: “like a moth to the flame, he [Rhodes] flies in, throws up a PayPal, and then disappears.”[44] Leaked membership files revealed cases of members quitting in frustration over the aggressive direction that Rhodes took with OK. However, the same files also showcase the increases in membership applications that followed Rhodes’s provocations.[45]
In November and December 2014, OK conducted a major operation in Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson had served as an epicenter of racial justice protests since the death of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, by a white police officer in August 2014. Anger at the grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer involved in Brown’s death, Darren Wilson, triggered civil unrest in late November 2014.[46] Days later, armed OK members deployed to Ferguson to provide security for local businesses and city residents.[47] Despite being ordered to stand down by local police, the OK operation continued for several weeks.[48] In an interview with VICE News, Rhodes claimed that OK’s security patrols in Ferguson were not motivated by white supremacism, citing the fact that OK guarded businesses owned by people of color. Instead, in Rhodes’s telling, OK sought to prevent violence.[49] John Karriman, leader of the Missouri OK chapter, suggested that OK provided security because of an alleged failure by the local government to do so. Karriman justified OK’s operation “because the government promised to guard our people and they didn’t.”[50] Ryan Lenz, an analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center, noted that the operation appeared to be “a really weird mission” for OK, which traditionally had an anti-government focus.[51] According to Lenz, at the time, OK was unique among patriot/militia groups in intervening in such a polarizing situation characterized by racial tensions and civil unrest.[52]
OK again returned to headlines in April 2015 when the group had a chance to replay its success at the Bundy Ranch. After being cited by BLM for unauthorized mining activity at the Sugar Pine Mine in Oregon, Rich Barclay and George Backes requested security support from the Oath Keepers.[53] The local Josephine County Oath Keepers launched “Operation Gold Rush,” an armed patrol of the mining site in response to the miners’ fears of federal agents burning or confiscating their property.[54] According to OK, about 700 people from across the country participated, including members of other OK chapters, members of the Idaho III%ers, and other smaller patriot/militia groups based in the western United States.[55] The standoff ended in May when BLM decided that Barclay and Backes would be permitted to resume operating the mine while their court case was ongoing.[56] OK took credit for the result, claiming that the militants’ presence at Sugar Pine Mine thwarted BLM from violating the miners’ rights to due process.[57]
OK’s next major operation came in July 2015. On July 16, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez killed U.S. Marines and a sailor during shootings at two military facilities, including a recruiting center, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[58] Abdulazeez was not believed to have any connections to foreign terrorist organizations, but law enforcement initially announced that the attack was “an act of domestic terrorism.”[59] The Oath Keepers, along with Three Percenters militias, organized armed patrols to guard recruiting centers around the United States. The groups also sought to protest rules that barred servicemembers from carrying weapons at recruiting centers.[60] This behavior ran contrary to OK’s supposed opposition to the federal government. Sam Jackson, an expert on militias, pointed out the contradictory nature of OK’s ideology exposed by this operation: in this instance, OK supported the military and law enforcement, while in previous campaigns, such as the Bundy Ranch and Sugar Pine Mine, OK opposed the federal government.[61] As for the government’s view of OK’s operation, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command sent a letter to recruiters warning them to consider the armed civilians outside recruiting centers as a security threat.[62]
In August 2015, OK conducted a second Ferguson operation. Around the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, racial justice protests and civil unrest surged in the city. Armed members of OK were also spotted in the streets.[63] John Karriman, the Missouri OK chapter leader, stated that OK militants had returned to Ferguson in order to provide security for the employees of InfoWars, a website that promotes conspiracy theories.[64] OK’s return in Ferguson prompted a major dispute within the group over race. Sam Andrews, a local OK leader, hatched a plan for the Oath Keepers to organize an open-carry march with Black residents in order to advocate for the Second Amendment across racial lines. A white gun rights activist, Andrews felt that every American citizen, regardless of race, should be entitled to exercise open carry of weapons.[65] Rhodes and OK’s national board of directors rejected the idea, concerned about the optics of arming Ferguson residents against law enforcement – qualms the group did not express when raising arms against BLM at the Bundy Ranch.[66] Accusing Rhodes and OK of “a racist double standard,” Andrews quit the group amidst the controversy.[67] He ultimately held the march in November 2015, but it yielded low turnout.[68]
OK attracted attention again in September 2015 when the group capitalized on the political frenzy surrounding gay marriage. In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. Soon after, Kim Davis, an Apostolic Christian and county clerk in Kentucky, refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite being ordered to do so by a federal court.[69] A judge found Davis in contempt of court and ordered her jailed for five days at the beginning of September.[70] After her release, Rhodes announced that he would send OK militants to Kentucky to provide Davis with a security detail and prevent her from being arrested again.[71] Rhodes clarified that OK did not act because of Davis’s stance on gay marriage, but to protect her due process rights.[72] Davis’s attorneys declined the offer of security support, and OK canceled the operation.[73] Though OK did not ultimately act, this episode reveals the group’s eagerness to attract attention by intervening in a nationally polarizing topic.
Two years after the Bunkerville, Nevada standoff, the Oath Keepers intervened in another dispute between the Bundys and the federal government, this time in Oregon. Starting in December 2015, hundreds of militants and activists assembled in Burns, Oregon, to protest the convictions of Dwight Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven Hammond for setting fires on federal land.[74] The Hammonds initially served prison sentences shorter than the mandatory minimum for their charges. After they were released, the Hammonds were sentenced to additional time in prison. This angered the Hammonds’ supporters , many of whom were a part of the Pacific Patriot Network, an umbrella association of local patriot/militia groups including the Josephine County Oath Keepers and Three Percent of Idaho.[75] On January 2, 2016, a group of about fifteen to twenty militants led by Cliven Bundy’s son, Ammon Bundy, began an armed occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, pledging to remain as long as necessary until their grievances of federal overreach were resolved.[76] The occupation “blindsided other leaders of the Hammond support movement," who generally opposed Bundy’s escalation of the dispute as “radical” and “fringe.”[77] For example, one activist, BJ Soper, wrote to Bundy on Facebook: “You HIJACKED what turned out to be a great and peaceful rally.”[78]
At least one member of OK, Jon Ritzheimer, joined Bundy in taking over the refuge and was later convicted and sentenced to 366 days in prison for his participation.[79] OK’s national leadership did not sanction Ritzheimer’s involvement in the standoff. Rhodes spoke out against the occupation, arguing that it went against the wishes of the Hammond family and that it “will be perceived as having the least amount of legitimacy you could possibly imagine.”[80] The Pacific Patriots Network intervened to form an armed buffer between the occupiers and federal agents to prevent violence.[81] OK’s national leaders officially approved of the buffer mission, deeming it “a righteous mission, if done right.”[82] The occupation ended on February 11, 2016, forty-one days after it began, with one militant, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, shot by federal agents and the rest taken into custody.[83] The violence led OK member Richard Mack to quit the organization.
During its first several years as an organization, OK maintained an officially nonpartisan stance.[84] In 2016 OK engaged in a presidential election for the first time, in support of Donald Trump. The national organization did not officially endorse Trump’s campaign, but many OK members were motivated by their opposition to Hillary Clinton, whose husband was a nemesis of the patriot/militia movement in the 1990s.[85] Rhodes sought to deploy OK to provide security at the 2016 Republican National Convention but was outvoted by OK’s board of directors.[86] Nevertheless, under Rhodes’s leadership, OK later offered security services to pro-Trump activists at Trump rallies. Rhodes himself was seen in the VIP section of a Trump rally wearing an Oath Keepers shirt.[87] Furthering Trump’s pre-election claims of voter fraud, Rhodes called on OK militants to organize “incognito intelligence gathering and crime spotting” operations at the polls.[88] He also led webinars for members on conducting poll surveillance and responding to election-related civil unrest.[89] OK was not seen to have a major public presence at the polls, however.
Tensions within OK came to a head in August 2016 when a high-profile OK chapter left the national organization. The Josephine County Oath Keepers, which had led OK’s standoff at Sugar Pine Mine in 2015, split from OK to form a new group called the Citizen Patriots of Josephine County.[90] Rhodes’s leadership reportedly prompted the split. In an interview with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Josephine County OK leader Joseph Rice accused the national organization of betraying the group’s original mission and condemned Rhodes’s leadership.[91] According to Rice, “Stewart [Rhodes] is not a leader. He has no leadership ability. He self-promotes.”[92] By 2017, the Citizen Patriots appeared to have rebranded as the Liberty Watch of Josephine County.[93]
2017-2020: Ideological Pivots
Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election was a turning point for groups in the patriot/militia movement, including OK. During his campaign, Trump promised to fight back against the “deep state” loathed by the anti-government groups. After Trump was elected, a longtime enemy of the patriot/militia movement – the leader of the federal government – suddenly turned into an ally, according to extremism expert J.J. MacNab.[94] Conspiracy theories accusing the government of collaborating with a globalist “New World Order” cabal were no longer as potent, and the movement was thrust into confusion.[95] OK and its peers soon found a new ideological nemesis, however. Historian Mark Pitcavage recounted that once the far-left anti-fascist movement (known as antifa) began targeting Trump and Trump supporters, patriot/militia extremist groups started to rally around antifa as a common enemy.[96] After Trump’s election, OK considered antifa the greatest threat to the United States.[97] While holding onto basic tenets of New World Order conspiracy theories, OK dropped its fear of the federal government colluding with overseas enemies and instead emphasized the dangers of the deep state, globalists, and leftist groups.[98]
In 2017, the primary targets of OK’s operations shifted from the federal government and Black Lives Matter protesters to antifa. In the name of “free speech,” OK and other anti-government militias began providing security at events expected to be challenged by antifa counter-protesters.[99] OK’s leadership framed the new focus on antifa as part of the group’s long-standing mission. For example, OK militants traveled to Berkeley, California in April 2017 to serve as security for “free speech” protests attended by alt-right activists and anti-feminists. During this event, Rhodes described the cause of free speech as in line with OK’s declared mission to defend the Constitution.[100] In June, Rhodes spoke at the “Rally Against Political Violence” organized by activists and pledged that “antifa will get their asses handed to them by the American patriots.”[101]
OK provided security at several other events in 2017. These included nationwide anti-Muslim rallies and demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. In April 2017, OK offered its security services to ACT for America, the largest U.S. anti-Muslim organization. Along with the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys, OK provided armed patrols to ACT for America events in twenty-eight cities across the United States.[102] In June, OK joined patriot/militia groups including American Freedom M/C, Patriot Prayer, and the Three Percenters at a free speech rally in the face of a heavy antifa presence in Portland.[103]
OK’s increasing presence at these events raised tensions with others on the far right, particularly white supremacist groups. As Rhodes began to expand OK’s ideological purview beyond traditional anti-government extremism, he resisted associations with white supremacism. In April 2017, Rhodes said, “I dislike the neo-Nazis more than Anti-fa, since they try to worm their way in and by doing so, they harm the cause of liberty far more than the radical leftists could ever do.”[104] In August 2017, Rhodes declared that OK would not participate in events alongside “known white nationalists.” Rhodes specifically cited avoiding cooperation with Jake Von Ott, the leader of Identity Evropa, and Kyle Chapman, the leader of the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, a Proud Boys affiliate.[105] In June 2017, a member of a militia group called “This is Texas” put a white supremacist protester into a chokehold at a rally in support of a statue of Sam Houston in Houston, Texas.[106] Believing “This is Texas” to be associated with the Oath Keepers (the relationship between the groups is unclear), white nationalist websites The Daily Stormer and Altright.com condemned OK for its refusal to promote white supremacist ideology.[107] OK said that the individual who choked the protester was not affiliated with the organization.[108]
OK’s public activity declined in 2018 and 2019, although the group continued to prepare for conflict with antifa. In August 2018, Rhodes announced that OK would organize “Spartan Training Groups” across the United States, similar to OK’s previously existing Community Preparedness Teams (CPTs).[109] This program aimed to instruct citizens in the paramilitary and first aid skills needed to form a militia, which would stand ready to be called to service by governors, sheriffs, or the president to combat a prophesied antifa insurrection.[110] Rhodes cast antifa as an existential threat to the United States, warning that the far-left movement planned to open the floodgates to unrestricted immigration in order to win future elections.[111]
OK next captured attention in June 2019. Oregon Governor Kate Brown sent state police to bring Republican senators back to the State Capitol to thwart their attempts to withhold a quorum.[112] OK responded, writing on Facebook, “Gov. Brown, you want a civil war, because this is how you get a civil war.”[113] Days later, the Oregon State Capitol shut down due to an undisclosed “possible militia threat.”[114]
The Oath Keepers again leaped into the national discourse in early 2020 as the United States began to lock down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, OK’s national leadership supported COVID-19 restrictions. In early March 2020, Rhodes posted an open letter on the OK website in support of public health measures.[115] This stance led OK’s national chaplain, Chuck Baldwin, to resign.[116] By April 2020, OK began to oppose COVID-19 lockdowns. Via its social media accounts, OK spread misinformation about the alleged dangers of COVID-19 vaccines in development. The group also accused China of deliberately releasing the coronavirus and supported “Open America” protests against shelter-in-place orders.[117]
OK also mobilized offline to defy public health guidelines. In late April 2020, a group of about ten Oath Keepers stood watch in support of a Texas gym owner’s decision to re-open his business in violation of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order closing gyms in the state.[118] In May, Rhodes personally spoke at a Texas rally in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions.[119] The Texas chapter of OK organized its own rally in Austin, the state capital, and called on members to provide armed security for a salon in Dallas.[120] OK’s activity was not limited to Texas. The same day as the operation at the salon, OK held a rally in Newburgh, New York, in support of a member opening his tattoo shop in violation of state COVID-19 guidelines.[121]
During the summer of 2020, the Oath Keepers capitalized on the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement that followed the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, by a Minneapolis police officer. Rhodes called Black Lives Matter protesters “well-funded Marxist and racist agitators,” and he organized teams of OK militants to guard businesses as protests against police brutality surged in 2020.[122] The Ohio State Regular Militia, an OK affiliate led by Jessica Watkins, was reportedly active in patrolling protests in Ohio and Kentucky, including a major OK operation in Louisville.[123] In late September 2020, about twenty Oath Keepers mobilized to provide security for Louisville businesses during Black Lives Matter protests following a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black paramedic.[124] Other notable events from OK’s engagement with police brutality and racial justice issues during summer 2020 included participation at a rally in support of pro-Confederate statue protesters in Weatherford, Texas and a “Back the Blue” demonstration in Tyler, Texas.[125] In Hood County, Texas, OK donated eight riot shields worth $1,000 to local police weeks after local Black Lives Matter protests.[126]
This period also saw OK adopt more inflammatory and violent rhetoric. After teenager Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested for shooting and killing two people protesting against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, Rhodes took to Twitter to call him a “patriot” and a hero.”[127] In August 2021, Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a member of the group Patriot Prayer, was shot and killed by Michael Reinoehl, an antifa supporter, in Portland, Oregon.[128] Incensed, Rhodes tweeted that “the first shot has been fired brother. Civil war is here, right now.”[129] On Facebook, John D. Shirley, an OK leader in Texas, called for the execution of Portland’s mayor.[130] Soon after, Twitter banned OK from its platform for violating policies on violent extremism.[131] In October 2020, Rhodes attended the fifth annual Red Pill Expo, a conference of conspiracy theorists, individual activists, and extremist groups, where he darkly warned of an imminent civil war with the far left.[132]
In fall 2020, OK supported Trump’s re-election bid. Promoting the president’s warnings that Democrats would try to steal the election, Rhodes pledged that OK would deploy its members undercover, potentially armed, to protect voters from intimidation.[133] However, as in 2016, OK was not seen to have a major public presence at the polls. Following Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Oath Keepers backed Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. The courts found no evidence to support the allegations; nearly all of Trump’s legal challenges to the election results were rejected, including by the U.S. Supreme Court.[134] Even as OK spread misinformation about election fraud in 2020, members of the group ran for public office themselves. For example, Oath Keeper Wendy Rogers won an Arizona state senate seat as a Republican representing District 6 in central Arizona.[135]
OK’s advocacy of Trump continued after his election loss. On November 14, 2020, the Oath Keepers joined similar extremist groups – including the Proud Boys and Three Percenters – and thousands of Trump supporters for the “Million MAGA March,” a demonstration in Washington, D.C. in support of the president.[136] The Oath Keepers called for volunteers to provide security for the “patriots” participating in the protest.[137] At the march, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes declared that the group did not recognize Joe Biden’s electoral victory.[138] He added that the organization would consider any actions Biden took as president to be illegitimate.[139] In a reference to American history, Rhodes claimed that members of his group would focus on “nullifying and resisting” Biden’s policies “very much like the founding fathers” did to oppose Great Britain.[140] At a Washington, D.C. rally of Trump supporters on December 12, 2020, Rhodes urged then-President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and declare martial law to prevent Biden from taking office.[141] Passed in 1807, this statute allows the President to use the U.S. military to quell domestic insurgencies.[142] If Trump chose not to do so, Rhodes threatened that the Oath Keepers would be forced to act, triggering a “much more bloody war.”[143]
January 2021: Storming of the U.S. Capitol and Federal Investigations
On January 6, 2021, the Oath Keepers participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump seeking to prevent the certification of President Biden’s election victory. As Congress met to count electoral votes, a mob of Trump supporters breached security and trespassed on Capitol grounds. The U.S. Justice Department estimates that between 2,000 and 2,500 people entered the Capitol without authorization on January 6.[144] Only a minority of the rioters are believed to have ties to extremist groups; of approximately 650 people charged as of November 3, 2021, about 77 were affiliated with a known organization.[145] The two major groups known to have taken part in the violence are the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.[146]
Though the events of January 6 began as a protest, the storming of the Capitol became violent. According to a bipartisan Senate report released in June 2021, 140 police officers were injured and three, including Officer Brian Sicknick, died.[147] The report’s death toll does not include the two Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the Capitol riot and who died by suicide in July 2021, a month after the report was released.[148] Two men unaffiliated with OK were arrested in March 2021 and charged with assault for allegedly spraying an unknown toxic chemical into the faces of three police officers, including Officer Sicknick.[149] In April 2021, the D.C. chief medical examiner announced that Officer Sicknick died of natural causes, namely two strokes nearly twenty-four hours after the Capitol attack.[150] It is unknown how many OK members were responsible for police casualties. At least one individual was captured on video surveillance attacking a Capitol police with bear spray while wearing a hat emblazoned with the words “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member.”[151]
Four protesters died during the events of January 6. One woman was shot by U.S. Capitol police while part of a group of people attempted to force their way into the building. Another woman is believed to have been crushed to death in the unrest, and two men suffered a heart attack and a stroke, respectively.[152] None of the deceased had public ties to OK. It is unknown how many participants in the events were injured. According to reporting by ProPublica, at least one Oath Keeper was wounded in the riots.[153]
The Oath Keepers is believed to have played a major role in the Capitol assault. The number of OK members involved is unclear, though some members were seen joining the crowds outside the U.S. Capitol. A group of about eight men later identified as members of the Oath Keepers were caught on video moving towards the doors of the Capitol.[154] According to a journalist present at the scene, multiple “pods” of approximately ten Oath Keepers roamed the U.S. Capitol complex wearing uniforms and tactical gear emblazoned with the Oath Keepers’ name.[155] Some individuals in the crowds outside and inside the Capitol were spotted wearing OK insignia, suggesting that the group did not attempt to completely hide its involvement.[156] However, before January 6, OK directed members participating in the protests against Joe Biden’s election victory to attend “in ‘grey man’ mode, without identifiable Oath Keepers gear.”[157] In a recording from the scene, Oath Keepers member Jessica Watkins is heard coordinating approximately thirty to forty others, which gives a rough estimate of the number of Oath Keepers present.[158] Rhodes was seen speaking with OK members outside the Capitol over the course of the day, although no evidence shows him entering the building.[159]
It is disputed whether the Oath Keepers’ involvement in violence at the Capitol on January 6 was formally organized by the group’s leaders or planned by individual members at a lower level of the OK hierarchy. The OK national leadership has denied responsibility for the attack, but prosecutors allege that Rhodes was involved. A Florida Oath Keeper charged for his involvement in the Capitol violence said that no leader gave an order to forcibly enter the Capitol.[160]
Messages exchanged by Watkins and Thomas E. Caldwell, an alleged OK co-conspirator, before January 6 showed impatience with Rhodes for not giving members of the Oath Keepers greater instruction before the counting of electoral votes by Congress.[161] According to a federal indictment, the leader of Oath Keepers – identified as “Person One” in an almost certain reference to Rhodes – urged members of the organization to go to D.C. in advance of January 6. Person One published an article on the OK website encouraging members of the group to “get to DC” in order to “defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup, through the massive vote fraud and related attacks on our Republic.” In the article, Person One maintained that OK is “both honor-bound and eager to be there in strength to do our part.”[162]
According to federal prosecutors, Rhodes was in contact with the Oath Keepers who stormed the Capitol before, during, and after the riots. He reportedly offered advice on tactical gear and commented on the storming of the Capitol with other group members.[163]Rhodes has stated, however, that he did not direct members of his group to storm the Capitol. Additionally, Rhodes has maintained that the Oath Keepers’ purpose for being in Washington, D.C. was to provide security for VIPs attending protests in support of President Trump.[164] He has described the OK members involved in the storming of the Capitol as rogue members acting outside the control and direction of the Oath Keepers leadership.[165]
In the wake of the assault on the Capitol, the Oath Keepers, along with the Proud Boys and Three Percenters, became a focus of the FBI’s investigation into the violence.[166] Prosecutors claimed that members of OK planned in advance to block certification of Joe Biden’s election. An indictment filed on February 19, 2021, argued that a group of nine participants in the Capitol riots, all affiliated with the Oath Keepers, conspired to storm the Capitol and prevent electoral votes from being counted.[167] Prosecutors argued that the Oath Keepers planned for weeks in advance of January 6 to use violence in order to obstruct Congressional certification of the election results and help former President Trump remain in office.[168]
As early as November 9, for example, OK member Jessica Watkins allegedly began recruiting others for a January training camp with the goal of being “fighting fit by inauguration.”[169] Thomas E. Caldwell, a Navy veteran allegedly tied to OK, is accused of arranging for a bus to travel with weaponry and at least forty people from North Carolina to Washington, D.C.[170] In an interview with The Washington Post, Rhodes said that Caldwell was not a leader or a formal member of the Oath Keepers.[171] Internal messages showed OK militants planning to bring firearms, mace, gas masks, and other tactical gear to Washington, D.C. during the first week of January.[172]
In February 2022, it was reported that the FBI was investigating a meeting between Stewart Rhodes, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and OK general counsel Kellye SoRelle, in a Washington, D.C. parking garage on January 5, 2021.[173] A documentary filmmaker recorded portions of the meeting. In one clip, an unidentified attendee reportedly can be heard saying: “It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. We just have to do it strong, fast, together.”[174] Both Rhodes and Tarrio deny close ties between the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.[175] In a deposition conducted by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Tarrio described a strained relationship with the Oath Keepers after Rhodes had promised to provide transportation to attendees of Tarrio’s rally in Portland in 2019 but backed out at the last minute. Tarrio stated in his testimony: “after that, I called that whole Oath Keepers group the ‘Oath Breakers.’” Tarrio claimed that the January 5 parking garage meeting was not a preplanned meetup with Rhodes: “I didn't go to meet Rhodes. He just happened to be there.”[176]
By November 2022, at least twenty-five individuals with ties to the Oath Keepers had been charged for involvement in the assault on the Capitol.[177] These included Watkins, Caldwell, and others from Ohio, Florida, and Virginia.[178] Prosecutors alleged that they planned in advance to storm the Capitol and prevent Joe Biden from being certified as the election winner.[179] Other named offenses included obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and trespassing.[180] In addition to criminal charges against its members, the national Oath Keepers organization faced a civil lawsuit. In mid-February 2021, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) sued President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers for alleged conspiracy to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 by attempting to block Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote.[181] In April 2021, ten other Democratic members of Congress joined the suit.[182] Several months later, in July 2021, Thompson dismissed himself from the lawsuit after he was selected as the Chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. In explaining his decision, Thompson stated, “In an effort to avoid the appearance of a conflict, I’ve dismissed my claim in the lawsuit I brought to address the events of Jan 6."[183] The NAACP continued the lawsuit, and on February 18, 2022, a U.S. District Court Judge allowed it to move forward.[184]
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested on January 13, 2022, at his home in Texas and charged with seditious conspiracy, a felony defined as attempting “to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force” the U.S. government.[185] Ten other OK members were also charged with seditious conspiracy, including nine who already faced lesser charges.[186] These seditious conspiracy charges are the most serious the Justice Department has filed in connection to the events of January 6.
The day after Rhodes’ arrest, Oath Keepers announced that Kellye SoRelle had been appointed as acting President of Oath Keepers “in lieu of Mr. Rhodes until he is released.”[187] SoRelle previously served as the Oath Keepers general counsel, as well as counsel for Latinos for Trump and Blacks for Trump. SoRelle’s phone was seized by the FBI in September 2021 as a part of the seditious conspiracy investigation into Rhodes and nine other OK members.[188] On September 1, 2022, SoRelle was arrested in Texas and charged with four offenses, including "obstructing the certification of the 2020 election and tampering with evidence in the Justice Department’s investigation of the Capitol riot.”[189] SoRelle pleaded not guilty to the charges.[190]
By early May 2022, three of the indicted Oath Keepers had pled guilty to seditious conspiracy, including William Todd Wilson, Brian Ulrich, and Joshua James.[191] In September 2022, five of the members who pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy were put on trial. Those individuals included Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell. Three of them—Watkins, Meggs, and Harrelson—entered the building during the attack on the Capitol.[192] Prosecutors alleged that the defendants attempted to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election “by any means necessary,” including violence.[193] More specifically, prosecutors sought to show that the Oath Keepers’ actions on January 6 were not “a spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage” but rather part of a detailed, premeditated plan to keep Donald Trump in office.[194] To prove their claim, prosecutors focused on the large stockpile of weapons that Rhodes and other Oath Keepers had assembled at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia, in the days leading up to the Capitol attack.[195] At the center of Rhodes’ and the other Oath Keepers’ defense was the claim that their attack on the Capitol was based on the belief that President Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act “to call up a militia to support him.”[196] Thus, as Rhodes argued, “the Oath Keepers could not be found guilty because they were simply following their president’s orders.”[197]
On November 29, 2022, Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of Oath Keepers, were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Months later, on May 25, 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to eighteen years in prison while Meggs received a twelve-year sentence.[198] Rhodes’ defense attorney said they planned to appeal his conviction.[199] The three other defendants were acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge. All five defendants were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding.[200]
A second trial for Oath Keepers members began in December 2022. The defendants in this second trial included Roberto Minuta, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel and Edward Vallejo. They were charged with seditious conspiracy along with several other felonies.[201] Unlike the defendants in the first trial, these members were more “disconnected from the top brass of the far-right militia.”[202] In opening statements on December 12, 2022, prosecutors argued that the defendants “decided to take the presidential election into their own hands."[203] Following the seven-week trial, all four defendants were convicted of seditious conspiracy along with two separate conspiracy charges.[204] Five months later, in June 2023, the men were sentenced to varying prison terms ranging in length from 36 months to 54 months.[205]
In March 2023, a federal jury convicted Connie Meggs (wife of Kelly Meggs), William Isaacs, and Sandra and Bennie Parker of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, a felony. Sandra Parker, Meggs, Steele, and Isaacs were also convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiring to prevent an officer of the United States from discharging a duty and destruction of government property, all felonies. In late August, Meggs was sentenced to 15 months in prison; the other defendants were sentenced to 60 months of probation.[206]
On July 12, 2023, federal prosecutors filed court papers to appeal the length of prison sentences given to seven of the convicted Oath Keepers members, including Stewart Rhodes.[207] According to CNN reporters Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, the “filings did not provide the reasoning or legal arguments for the DOJ’s appeals, but several of the Oath Keepers’ sentences were well below what prosecutors had asked for in court.”[208] For example, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison, even though the Justice Department had sought a 25-year sentence.[209]
Splits in the Oath Keepers after January 6
January 6 produced fissures within the Oath Keepers organization. The North Carolina chapter of the group opposed OK’s involvement in the Capitol insurrection. The chapter, led by leader Doug Smith, unanimously voted to break away from the national organization in February 2021.[210] The chapter had begun distancing itself from the OK national leadership as early as November 2020, disenchanted with OK’s embrace of election-related conspiracy theories.[211] According to Smith, the North Carolina Oath Keepers would refocus its efforts on supporting local law enforcement.[212] Following the indictment of Stewart Rhodes, Smith again disavowed the national organization, writing in August 2022, “Myself and other former North Carolina Oathkeepers that I have spoken to are saddened to see the direction that the national Oathkeepers organization took on Jan. 6, 2021…It sickens us that instead of standing shoulder to shoulder with Capitol and DC police to repel the attack on our historic Capitol building that some in the National Oathkeepers organization had participated in the attack.”[213]
The Indiana Oath Keepers also distanced itself from the national organization after January 6. When an Indiana man, caught on video attacking Capitol police officers while wearing an OK hat, turned himself in to the FBI in Indiana, the Indiana Oath Keepers asserted in an official statement that he was not a member of the chapter.[214] An anonymous leader of the chapter claimed in an interview with a local newspaper that the Indiana Oath Keepers had split from the national leadership three years earlier, though the chapter kept the name, logo, and mission statement of the national Oath Keepers.[215]
After the January 6 attack, Jim Arroyo, the Vice President of the Arizona OK chapter, announced that his chapter would split from the central OK organization.[216] In correspondence with Vice News, Arroyo reported that his OK chapter had been operating largely autonomously since 2018 after Rhodes broke ties with the chapter when Arroyo refused to join OK operations at the U.S.-Mexico border.[217] Arroyo renamed the Arizona OK chapter as the Yavapai County Preparedness Team (YCPT) in 2018 and registered it as a nonprofit organization. In an article published by local news outlet The Daily Courier and posted on the YCPT’s website, Arroyo asserted that the YCPT was not connected to the January 6 riot and claimed that he advised members to “stay away from it.” Arroyo estimated that 100-400 people attended the group’s public meetings, and more than 1,000 individuals were on the YCPT email list.[218]
While Arroyo claims to have officially split from OK, his group still uses OK branding. As of October 2023, the group’s website uses the OK logo and flag.[219] At an August 2022 meeting posed on YouTube, Arroyo reportedly told members in attendance wearing OK gear: “Your shirts and hats are what tell the world you’re not ashamed to be an Oath Keeper, or afraid of the government just because of that crap that happened on January the 6th, which was completely staged. It was a setup.” [220] YCPT, along with its “sister organization” the Lions of Liberty, organized efforts to monitor ballot drop boxes for fraudulent activities during the 2022 midterm election. Photos of a September 2022 meeting on the topic show the YCPT banner hanging alongside an Oath Keepers banner for “Yavapai County, Arizona Chapter.”[221] A lawsuit was filed in October 2022 by the League of Women Voters of Arizona that alleged the YCPT and the Lions of Liberty’s efforts to surveil ballot drop boxes amounted to voter intimidation.[222] YCPT and Lions of Liberty ultimately agreed to cease their monitoring operations and were dismissed from the case.[223]
[1] “‘Alt-Right’ Declares Flame War On Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. June 15, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/06/15/alt-right-declares-flame….
[2] “Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keep….
[3] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[4] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elme….
[5] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 143.
[6] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142.
[7] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142.
[8] “Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keep…
[9] “Racism & Identity in the Patriot Movement.” Rural Organizing Project. Accessed January 13, 2023. https://rop.org/uia/section-i/the-patriot-movement-historically-nationa….
[10] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elme…
[11] “Oath Keepers and Three %ers Part of Growing Anti-Government Movement.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers-and-three-ers-…%
[12] “Oath Keepers and Three %ers Part of Growing Anti-Government Movement.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers-and-three-ers-…%
[13] Kennedy, Bud. “Fort Worth-area law officers’ emails show past ties to paranoid Oath Keepers militia.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 25, 2021. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article248562800….
[14] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elme….
[15] Gouras, Matt. “In Lincoln County and across the West: Oath Keepers want sheriff back as top cop.” Missoulian. June 1, 2010. https://missoulian.com/news/local/in-lincoln-county-and-across-the-west….
[16] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militia….
[17] “Oath Keepers and Three %ers Part of Growing Anti-Government Movement.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers-and-three-ers-…%.
[18] “Tea Party Twitter Arrest: Daniel Hayden Threatened Mass Murder, Cop Killing.” Huffington Post. May 25, 2011. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tea-party-twitter-arrest_n_191527.
[19] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elme…
[20] Poulsen, Kevin. “Oklahoma Man Arrested for Twittering Tea Party Death Threats.” Wired. April 24, 2009. https://www.wired.com/2009/04/twitterraid/.
[21] “Oklahoma City Man Receives Eight-Month Sentence for Twitter Threat.” FBI. February 2, 2010. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/oklahomacity/press-releases/2010/ok02….
[22] Gunter, Booth. “Oath Keeper Convicted on Weapons Charge, Attempted ‘Citizen’s Arrest.’” Southern Poverty Law Center. October 25, 2011. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/10/25/oath-keeper-convicted-we…-‘citizen’s-arrest’.
[23] Gunter, Booth. “Oath Keeper Convicted on Weapons Charge, Attempted ‘Citizen’s Arrest.’” Southern Poverty Law Center. October 25, 2011. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/10/25/oath-keeper-convicted-we…-‘citizen’s-arrest’.
[24] “Militia Extremist Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Take Over Plot.” FBI. May 15, 2012. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/knoxville/press-releases/2012/militia….
[25] Sparling, Hannah K. and Kevin Grasha. “Ohio militias: Who are the Oath Keepers, Ohio State Regular Militia?” The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 22, 2021. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news
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[26] Sparling, Hannah K. and Kevin Grasha. “Ohio militias: Who are the Oath Keepers, Ohio State Regular Militia?” The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 22, 2021. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news
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[27] Balko, Randy. “An Interview With Stewart Rhodes.” Reason. February 7, 2011. https://reason.com/2011/02/07/an-interview-with-stewart-rhod/?print=.
[28] Lenz, Ryan. “Are the Oath Keepers Fighting ‘Martial Law’?” Southern Poverty Law Center. November 15, 2011. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/are-oa…-‘martial-law’.
[29] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. 2021. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers. ; Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 44.
[30] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. 2021. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers.
[31] Wyler, Grace. “The Bundy Ranch Standoff Was Only the Beginning for America's Right-Wing Militias.” VICE News. April 16, 2014. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dpwykw/an-armed-standoff-in-nevada-is-o….
[32] Childress, Sarah. “The Battle Over Bunkerville: The Bundys, the Federal Government and the New Militia Movement.” PBS Frontline. May 16, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-battle-over-bunkerville/.
[33] Wyler, Grace. “The Bundy Ranch Standoff Was Only the Beginning for America's Right-Wing Militias.” VICE News. April 16, 2014. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dpwykw/an-armed-standoff-in-nevada-is-o….
[34] Mencimer, Stephanie. “He Was a Board Member of the Oath Keepers. Now He’s Holding State-Approved Trainings for Law Enforcement in Texas.” Mother Jones. October 29, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/oath-keepers-texas-richard….
[35] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 46.
[36] Childress, Sarah. “The Battle Over Bunkerville: The Bundys, the Federal Government and the New Militia Movement.” PBS Frontline. May 16, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-battle-over-bunkerville/.
[37] Childress, Sarah. “The Battle Over Bunkerville: The Bundys, the Federal Government and the New Militia Movement.” PBS Frontline. May 16, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-battle-over-bunkerville/.
[38] Wyler, Grace. “The Bundy Ranch Standoff Was Only the Beginning for America’s Right-Wing Militias.” VICE News. April 16, 2014. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dpwykw/an-armed-standoff-in-nevada-is-o…. ; Fuller, Jaime. “The long fight between the Bundys and the federal government, from 1989 to today.” The Washington Post. January 4, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/04/15/everything-yo….
[39] Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-….
[40] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[41] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[42] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[43] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[44] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oat….
[45] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militia….
[46] Davey, Monica and Julie Bosman. “Protests Flare After Ferguson Police Officer Is Not Indicted.” The New York Times. November 24, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/ferguson-darren-wilson-shooting-m….
[47] Heffernan, Brian. “In Ferguson, Oath Keepers draw both suspicion and gratitude.” Al Jazeera America. December 14, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/14/oath-keepers-fergusonp….
[48] Heffernan, Brian. “In Ferguson, Oath Keepers draw both suspicion and gratitude.” Al Jazeera America. December 14, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/14/oath-keepers-fergusonp….
[49] Hay, Mark. “The Leader of Oath Keepers Says the Right-Wing Group Is in Ferguson to ‘Protect the Weak.’” VICE News. December 1, 2014. https://www.vice.com/en/article/av48bg/leader-of-oath-keepers-says-the-….
[50] Fowler, Sarah. “Ferguson unrest: Who are the mysterious ‘Oath Keepers’?” BBC News. August 12, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33867245.
[51] Heffernan, Brian. “In Ferguson, Oath Keepers draw both suspicion and gratitude.” Al Jazeera America. December 14, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/14/oath-keepers-fergusonp….
[52] Heffernan, Brian. “In Ferguson, Oath Keepers draw both suspicion and gratitude.” Al Jazeera America. December 14, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/14/oath-keepers-fergusonp….
[53] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[54] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[55] Pogue, James. “The Oath Keepers Are Ready for War with the Federal Government.” VICE News. September 14, 2015. https://www.vice.com/en/article/exq8en/miner-threat-0000747-v22n9. ; Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[56] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 49-50.
[57] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 49-50.
[58] Fausset, Richard, Alan Blinder, and Michael S. Schmidt. “Gunman Kills 4 Marines at Military Site in Chattanooga.” The New York Times. July 16, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/us/chattanooga-tennessee-shooting.ht…. ; Fausset, Richard, Richard Pérez-Peña, and Matt Apuzzo. “Slain Troops in Chattanooga Saved Lives Before Giving Their Own.” The New York Times. July 22, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/us/chattanooga-tennessee-shooting-in….
[59] Calamur, Krishnadev and Eyder Peralta. “Gunman's Motivation Unclear After Shootings At Tennessee Military Sites.” NPR. July 16, 2015. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/16/423489864/shooting-r….
[60] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 51.
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[167] “United States of America v. Thomas Edward Caldwell, Donovan Ray Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs, and Connie Meggs.” United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indictment filed February 19, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-superseding-indictm….
[168] Feuer, Alan and Katie Benner. “More Oath Keeper Suspects Charged in Capitol Riot Plot.” The New York Times. February 19, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/oath-keepers-capitol-rio….
[169] Hsu, Spencer S., Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. “Self-styled militia members in three states began planning in November for recruits, weapons ahead of Capitol breach, U.S. alleges.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/self-styled-militia-m….
[170] Hsu, Spencer S., Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. “Self-styled militia members in three states began planning in November for recruits, weapons ahead of Capitol breach, U.S. alleges.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/self-styled-militia-m….
[171] Hsu, Spencer S., Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. “Self-styled militia members in three states began planning in November for recruits, weapons ahead of Capitol breach, U.S. alleges.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/self-styled-militia-m….
[172] Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer, Denise Lu, Eleanor Lutz, and Alex Leeds Matthews. “A Small Group of Militants’ Outsize Role in the Capitol Attack.” The New York Times. February 21, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/21/us/capitol-riot-attack-m….
[173] Roston, Aram. “FBI Probes Pre-Capitol Riot Meeting of Far-Right Groups.” Reuters. February 8, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-proudboy-meeting-exclusive-idCAK….
[174] Feuer, Alan, and Zach Montague. “New Details Emerge of Meeting Between Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.” New York Times, January 19, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/us/proud-boys-oath-keepers-meeting.html
[175] Wendling, Mike. “Far-right groups had racism rift before Capitol riot.” BBC, December 22, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64071724
[176] U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee To Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Deposition of Henry Tarrio. February 4, 2022, Washington, DC. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000042157/pdf/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000042157.pdf
[177] “Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. November 3, 2020. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers.
[178] Feuer, Alan and Katie Benner. “More Oath Keeper Suspects Charged in Capitol Riot Plot.” The New York Times. February 19, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/oath-keepers-capitol-rio….
[179] Feuer, Alan and Katie Benner. “More Oath Keeper Suspects Charged in Capitol Riot Plot.” The New York Times. February 19, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/oath-keepers-capitol-rio….
[180] “United States of America v. Thomas Edward Caldwell, Donovan Ray Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs, and Connie Meggs.” United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indictment filed February 19, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-superseding-indictm….
[181] Lucas, Ryan. “House Democrat Sues Trump, Giuliani And 2 Far-Right Groups Over Capitol Riot.” NPR. February 16, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/968374210/house-democrat-sues-trump-giul….
[182] Mangan, Dan. “10 more Congress members join lawsuit accusing Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers of Capitol riot conspiracy.” CNBC. April 7, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/07/capitol-riot-congress-members-sue-trump….
[183] Carlisle, Zac. “Thompson dismissed Jan. 6 lawsuit to avoid 'appearance of a conflict.’” WTVA 9 News. July 21, 2021. https://www.wtva.com/news/local/thompson-dismissed-jan-6-lawsuit-to-avo….
[184] “BREAKING: Historic Ruling Denies immunity for Donald Trump in Capitol Insurrection Lawsuit.” NAACP. February 18, 2022. https://naacp.org/articles/breaking-historic-ruling-denies-immunity-don….
[185] Lee, Ella. “Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, found guilty of seditious conspiracy. What that means.” USA Today. November 30, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/30/stewart-rhodes-…. ; “Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” United States Department of Justice. January 13, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-10-other-individ….
[186] “Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” United States Department of Justice. January 13, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-10-other-individ….
[187] Dickinson, Tim. “Oath Keepers Lawyer Takes Over as Acting Leader of Militia With Stewart Rhodes in Jail.” Rolling Stone. January 14, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kellye-sorelle-oath….
[188] Friedman, Dan. “FBI Seizes Oath Keeper Lawyer’s Phone in ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ Investigation.” Mother Jones. September 9, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/fbi-oath-keepers-lawyer-ph….
[189] Feuer, Alan and Ken Bensinger. “Top Lawyer for Oath Keepers Is Arrested in Connection With Jan. 6 Attack.” The New York Times. September 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/politics/oath-keepers-lawyer-arre….
[190] Lybrand, Holmes. “Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye SoRelle pleads not guilty to Jan 6 charges.” CNN. September 9, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/politics/oath-keeper-lawyer-kellye-sorel….
[191] Dickinson, Tim. “The Seditious Conspiracy Thickens: Third Oath Keeper Pleads Guilty to Jan. 6 Plot, Links Stewart Rhodes to Trump Inner Circle.” Rolling Stone. May 4, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/third-guilty-plea-s….
[192] Reilly, Ryan J. and Daniel Barnes. “Oath Keepers founder found guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 case.” NBC News. November 29, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/oath-keepers-founder-found-guilty-of-se….
[193] Feuer, Alan and Zach Montague. “Former Oath Keeper Says Militia Planned to Use ‘Any Means Necessary’ on Jan. 6.” The New York Times. October 18, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/us/politics/oath-keepers-militia-jan….
[194] Kunzelman, Michael, Lindsay Whitehurst, and Alanna Durkin Richer. “Oath Keepers jury home for weekend after deliberations start.” The Associated Press. November 22, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-donald-trump-conspiracy-….
[195] Reilly, Ryan J. and Daniel Barnes. “Oath Keeper testifies about massive gun pile stashed in hotel on the eve of Jan. 6.” NBC News. October 12, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/oath-keeper-testifi…. ; Feuer, Alan. “Outcome in Oath Keepers Trial Could Hold Lessons for Coming Jan. 6 cases.” NBC News. November 30, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/us/politics/oath-keepers-stewart-rho….
[196] Durkin, Alanna Richer and Lindsay Whitehurst. “Trump at center of Oath Keepers novel defense in Jan. 6 case.” The Associated Press. October 1, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-riots-donald-trump-conspiracy-….
[197] Klawans, Justin. “Who are the Oath Keepers?” The Week. December 16, 2022. https://theweek.com/oath-keepers/1018848/who-are-the-oath-keepers.
[198] Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, “Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power,” CNN, May 25, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/oath-keepers-sentencing-stewart….
[199] “Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years,” Al Jazeera, May 25, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/25/oath-keepers-leader-stewart-rh….
[200] Reilly, Ryan J. and Daniel Barnes. “Two Oath Keepers, including founder, convicted of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 case.” NBC News. November 29, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/oath-keepers-verdic….
[201] Kunzelman, Michael and Alanna Durkin Richard. “2nd Oath Keepers Jan. 6 sedition trial to get underway.” The Associated Press. December 12, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-department-of-justice-united-states….
[202] Rabinowitz, Hannah and Holmes Lybrand. “Second Oath Keepers sedition trial presents new challenges for prosecutors.” CNN. December 6, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/oath-keeper-second-trial/index….
[203] Rabinowitz, Hannah. “Second seditious conspiracy trial against Oath Keepers begins with opening statements.” CNN News. December 12, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/second-oath-keepers-trial-begin…. ; Lynch, Sarah N. “U.S. tells jury Oath Keepers plotted to use force to keep Trump in office.” Reuters. December 12, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-tells-jury-oath-keepers-plotted-use-fo….
[204] Kunzelman, Michael and Alanna Durkin Richard. “Four Oath Keepers convicted of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy.” The Associated Press. January 23, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-conviction….
[205] Office of Public Affairs, “Four Additional Oath Keepers Sentenced for Seditious Conspiracy Related to U.S. Capitol Breach,” U.S. Department of Justice, June 2, 2023, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-additional-oath-keepers-sentenced-s….
[206]U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, “Four Members of the Oath Keepers Sentenced,” September 1, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/four-members-oath-keepers-sentenced-…
[207] Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, “Justice Department appeals Jan. 6 prison sentences for Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers," Politico, July 12, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/12/doj-appeals-oath-keepers-sente….
[208] Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, “Justice Department appealing prison sentences given to convicted Oath Keepers members,” CNN, July 12, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/politics/doj-appeals-oath-keepers-senten….
[209] Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, “Justice Department appealing prison sentences given to convicted Oath Keepers members,” CNN, July 12, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/politics/doj-appeals-oath-keepers-senten….
[210] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following….
[211] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following….
[212] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following….
[213] Sherrill, Thomas. “After indictment of Oath Keepers founder, former N.C. head again repudiates national group.” The News Reporter. January 28, 2022. https://www.nrcolumbus.com/news/elections/after-indictment-of-oath-keep….
[214] East, Andy. “A local connection: Indiana Oath Keepers confirms group in Bartholomew County.” The Columbus Republic. January 31, 2021. http://www.therepublic.com/2021/01/31/a-local-connection-indiana-oath-k….
[215] East, Andy. “A local connection: Indiana Oath Keepers confirms group in Bartholomew County.” The Columbus Republic. January 31, 2021. http://www.therepublic.com/2021/01/31/a-local-connection-indiana-oath-k….
[216] Stall, Hampton, and Aaron Wolfson. “Actor Profile: Oath Keepers.” ACLED Analysis, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. https://acleddata.com/acleddatanew/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Actor-Profile-Oath-Keepers_June2021.pdf
[217] Owen, Tess. “Armed Fringe Groups Are Gearing Up to ‘Protect’ Midterm Ballot Dropboxes.” Vice News, October 6, 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes
[218] Yavapai County Preparedness Team. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://ycpt.org
[219] Yavapai County Preparedness Team. “About YCPT.” Accessed October 1, 2023. https://ycpt.org/about-ycpt/
[220] Owen, Tess. “Armed Fringe Groups Are Gearing Up to ‘Protect’ Midterm Ballot Dropboxes.” Vice News, October 6, 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes
[221] Simonelli, Isaac Stone. “Experts warn of extremist push to expand sheriffs’ role in elections.” AZ Mirror, October 24, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/24/experts-warn-of-extremist-push-to-expand-sheriffs-role-in-elections/
[222] Macdonald-Evoy, Jerod. “Two lawsuits filed to stop intimidation at ballot drop boxes.” AZ Mirror, October 25, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/25/two-lawsuits-filed-to-stop-intimidation-at-ballot-drop-boxes/ ; U.S. Department of Justice. Statement of Interest in League of Women Voters of Arizona v. Lions of Liberty.” Filed October 31, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/d9/case-documents/attachments/2022/10/31/statement_of_interest-_leage_of_women_voters_v._lions_of_liberty.pdf
[223] Bensinger, Ken. “Justice Dept. Questions Drop Box Monitoring in Arizona.” The New York Times, November 9, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/justice-department-arizona-drop-boxes.html
Organizational Structure
The Oath Keepers is a large national hierarchical organization that includes state, county, and local chapters operating under the general direction of a national leadership.[1] The national leadership is composed of a board of directors and group founder Stewart Rhodes. It serves as the official voice of the Oath Keepers, handling the group’s website, social media, and official public statements. The national leadership also provides calls to action on various topics.[2] Oath Keepers chapters are responsible for much of the group’s on-the-ground activity, including meetings, operations, and training.[3] The chapters coordinate to some degree, as suggested by evidence indicating that geographically dispersed OK chapter leaders hold conference calls.[4] This section lists several key national OK leaders and other high-profile or well-known OK leaders. It is not a comprehensive list of all members of the board of directors or chapter leaders.
Stewart Rhodes (2009 - present): Rhodes is the founder and national leader of the Oath Keepers. According to the group’s bylaws, Rhodes is president of OK for life unless he chooses to resign or is found incompetent.[5] After Rhodes was arrested in January 2022, Kellye SoRelle was appointed as acting President of Oath Keepers “in lieu of Mr. Rhodes until he is released.”[6] Born in 1966, Rhodes enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school and served as a paratrooper.[7] Honorably discharged due to a parachuting accident, he graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1998 and began working for Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas).[8] After graduating from Yale Law School in 2004, he clerked for a justice on the Arizona Supreme Court and began practicing law in Nevada.[9] He later moved to Montana and was disbarred in 2015 after being accused of professional misconduct by an Arizona judge.[10] In 2018, Rhodes faced allegations of domestic abuse against his wife and children.[11] He rejected the claims, and his wife’s petition for a restraining order was denied.[12] Prosecutors allege that Rhodes oversaw the Oath Keepers’ participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.[13] In March 2021, Rhodes was the subject of two federal investigations, one focused on his possible role in the January 6 insurrection and the other pertaining to an unrelated issue.[14] In early January 2022, Rhodes was arrested at his home in Texas and charged with seditious conspiracy. Federal judges ordered Rhodes to stay jailed until his trial in July 2022.[15] On November 29, 2022, Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and several other felony charges. Months later, on May 25, 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.[16] Rhodes’ defense attorney said they planned to appeal his conviction.[17]
Greg McWhirter (Unknown - present): McWhirter worked in the sheriff’s department in Ravalli County, Montana, and served as the vice president of Oath Keepers.[18] A member of OK’s national board of directors, he previously served as the group’s chief information officer in Indiana.[19] McWhirter owned the Western Montana Tactical Training Center, a gun shop and shooting range, that offered training to law enforcement and gave discounts on ammunition to OK members.[20] After the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, McWhirter announced his intention of selling the shop.[21] In November 2022, McWhirter was revealed to have been an informant for the FBI in the weeks and months leading up to the Capitol riot.[22]
John D. Shirley (2009 - 2020): A police officer since 1994, Shirley served in state and national leadership roles with Oath Keepers for over ten years, according to an op-ed he wrote in February 2020 defending the group.[23] Shirley held roles including leader of the Texas OK chapter and member of the national OK board of directors.[24] In late November 2020, he announced his intention to retire from Oath Keepers.[25]
Jessica Watkins (2019 - 2021): Watkins is the founder of an OK-aligned militia in Ohio known as the Ohio State Regular Militia (OSRM). She served as the leader of a contingent of Oath Keepers that participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Watkins was arrested for her involvement in the riots and was charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and trespassing.[26] In February 2021, she publicly came out as transgender and subsequently asked to be released from jail pending trial, claiming that her gender identity put her safety at risk in jail.[27] In a February 2021 court appearance, she renounced the Oath Keepers and announced her intention to disband OSRM.[28] She was one of the highest-profile women, and perhaps the only transgender person, to hold a leadership role in a domestic extremist organization. On November 29, 2022, Watkins was convicted on several felony charges, including obstruction of Congress, civil disorder, and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging their duties.[29] Months later, on May 26, 2023, Watkins was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.[30]
Doug Smith (Unknown to 2021): Smith led the North Carolina Oath Keepers until February 2021 when he announced that his chapter would split with the national organization. The split was driven by the North Carolina chapter’s opposition to OK’s involvement in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.[31]
Kellye SoRelle (January 2022 - present): The day after Stewart Rhodes’ arrest, the Oath Keepers announced that Kellye SoRelle had been appointed as the acting President of Oath Keepers.[32] SoRelle practices law in Texas and unsuccessfully ran for office as a Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives. She previously served as the Oath Keepers’ general counsel, as well as counsel for Latinos for Trump and Blacks for Trump. SoRelle and Rhodes have appeared together at political rallies. They were pictured together at a meeting in Washington, D.C. with other extremist leaders, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, the day before the January 6 insurrection.[33] SoRelle’s phone was seized by the FBI in September 2021 as a part of the seditious conspiracy investigation into Rhodes and nine other OK members.[34] On September 1, 2022, SoRelle was arrested and charged with four offenses, including "obstructing the certification of the 2020 election and tampering with evidence in the Justice Department’s investigation of the Capitol riot.”[35] SoRelle pleaded not guilty to the charges.[36] In June 2023, independent evaluators hired by the government and the defense deemed SoRelle “mentally incompetent” to stand trial.[37] She is allegedly suffering from a mental disorder that has made her “unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against her or to assist properly in her defense,” according to U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.[38] As a result, SoRelle’s trial was postponed indefinitely. She will receive mental health treatment while in federal custody.[39]
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 29.
[2] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 29.
[3] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 29.
[4] Owen, Tess. “Oath Keepers Talked About Protecting the Capitol—Before They Stormed It.” VICE News. February 3, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/epd8x4/oath-keepers-talked-about-protecting-the-capitolbefore-they-stormed-it.
[5] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 30.
[6] Dickinson, Tim. “Oath Keepers Lawyer Takes Over as Acting Leader of Militia With Stewart Rhodes in Jail.” Rolling Stone, January 14, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kellye-sorelle-oath-keeper-acting-president-1284985/?sub_action=logged_in.
[7] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes-0
[8] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes-0.
[9] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes-0.
[10] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 30.
[11] Lenz, Ryan. “Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes' wife alleges widespread abuse in petition for restraining order.” Southern Poverty Law Center. March 15, 2018. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/15/oath-keepers-founder-stewart-rhodes-wife-alleges-widespread-abuse-petition-restraining.
[12] Weill, Kelly. “Oath Keepers Got Ammo Discount for Post-Election ‘Chaos.’” The Daily Beast. January 29, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/oath-keepers-got-ammo-discount-for-post-election-chaos-in-montana.
[13] Feuer, Alan, Adam Goldman, and Katie Benner. “Oath Keepers Founder Is Said to Be Investigated in Capitol Riot.” The New York Times. March 10, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/us/politics
/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-capitol-riot.html.
[14] Feuer, Alan, Adam Goldman, and Katie Benner. “Oath Keepers Founder Is Said to Be Investigated in Capitol Riot.” The New York Times. March 10, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/us/politics
/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-capitol-riot.html.
[15] Feuer, Alan. “Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers Leader, Is Denied Bail on Sedition Charge.” The New York Times. January 26, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/us/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers.html.
[16] Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, “Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power,” CNN, May 25, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/oath-keepers-sentencing-stewart-rhodes-kelly-meggs/index.html.
[17] “Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years,” Al Jazeera, May 25, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/25/oath-keepers-leader-stewart-rhodes-sentenced-to-18-years.
[18] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local, national Oath Keepers members working to expand in Columbus County.” The News Reporter. September 15, 2020. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-national-oath-keepers-members-working-to-expand-in-columbus-county/.
[19] Pogreba, Don. “The Danger of Militia-Connected Law Enforcement is Real Here in Montana.” The Montana Post. July 2, 2019. https://themontanapost.com/blog/2019/07/02/the-danger-of-militia-connected-law-enforcement-is-real-here-in-montana/.
[20] Weill, Kelly. “Oath Keepers Got Ammo Discount for Post-Election ‘Chaos.’” The Daily Beast. January 29, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/oath-keepers-got-ammo-discount-for-post-election-chaos-in-montana.
[21] Weill, Kelly. “Oath Keepers Got Ammo Discount for Post-Election ‘Chaos.’” The Daily Beast. January 29, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/oath-keepers-got-ammo-discount-for-post-election-chaos-in-montana.
[22] Feuer, Alan and Adam Goldman. “Informant Likely to Testify as Defense Witness in Oath Keepers Sedition Trial.” The New York Times. November 8, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/us/politics/oath-keepers-trial-january-6.html.
[23] Shirley, John. “Oath Keepers: An Insider’s Perspective.” Hood County Today. February 25, 2020. https://hoodcountytoday.com/oath-keepers-an-insiders-perspective/.
[24] O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
[25] O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
[26] “United States of America v. Thomas Edward Caldwell, Donovan Ray Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs, and Connie Meggs.” United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indictment filed February 19, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-superseding-indictment/42c4d9c52e4e4980/full.pdf.
[27] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Zoe Tillman. “Jessica Watkins, An Oath Keeper Charged In The DC Attack, Fears Harsh Treatment Because She Is Transgender.” Buzzfeed News. February 21, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/oath-keeper-transgender-jail-jessica-watkins.
[28] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Zoe Tillman. “Prosecutors Suggested That The Oath Keepers Had A Special Force Ready With Weapons During The Capitol Insurrection.” Buzzfeed News. February 26, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/oath-keepers-armed-reinforcements-capitol-riot.
[29] “Two Leaders of Oath Keepers Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy and Other Charges Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” United States Department of Justice. November 29, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-leaders-oath-keepers-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-other-charges-related-us.
[30] Hannah Rabinowitz, “Jessica Watkins: Oath Keepers member and Army veteran sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for January 6,” CNN, May 26, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/26/politics/oath-keepers-jessica-watkins-sentencing/index.html#:~:text=Jessica%20Watkins%3A%20Oath%20Keepers%20member,for%20January%206%20%7C%20CNN%20Politics.
[31] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following-jan-6/.
[32] Dickinson, Tim. “Oath Keepers Lawyer Takes Over as Acting Leader of Militia With Stewart Rhodes in Jail.” Rolling Stone, January 14, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kellye-sorelle-oath-keeper-acting-president-1284985/?sub_action=logged_in.
[33] Dickinson, Tim. “Oath Keepers Lawyer Takes Over as Acting Leader of Militia With Stewart Rhodes in Jail.” Rolling Stone. January 14, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kellye-sorelle-oath-keeper-acting-president-1284985/?sub_action=logged_in. ; Roston, Aram. “FBI Probes Pre-Capitol Riot Meeting of Far-Right Groups.” Reuters. February 8, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-proudboy-meeting-exclusive-idCAKBN2KD1BW.
[34] Friedman, Dan. “FBI Seizes Oath Keeper Lawyer’s Phone in ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ Investigation.” Mother Jones. September 9, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/fbi-oath-keepers-lawyer-phone-seditious-conspiracy-january-6/.
[35] Feuer, Alan and Ken Bensinger. “Top Lawyer for Oath Keepers Is Arrested in Connection With Jan. 6 Attack.” The New York Times. September 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/politics/oath-keepers-lawyer-arrested.html.
[36] Lybrand, Holmes. “Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye SoRelle pleads not guilty to Jan 6 charges.” CNN. September 9, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/politics/oath-keeper-lawyer-kellye-sorelle/index.html.
[37] Marisa Sarnoff, “Oath Keepers lawyer who made infamous ‘Lord of the Rings’ argument in pro-Trump lawsuit deemed ‘mentally incompetent’ for her Jan. 6 trial,” Law and Crime, June 20, 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/oath-keepers-lawyer-who-made-infamous-lord-of-the-rings-argument-in-pro-trump-lawsuit-deemed-mentally-incompetent-for-her-jan-6-trial/. ; Jordan Fischer, “Judge orders former Oath Keepers, Latinos for Trump attorney restored to competency before trial,” WUSA 9, June 16, 2023, https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/judge-orders-former-oath-keepers-latinos-for-trump-attorney-kellye-sorelle-restored-to-competency-before-trial-stewart-rhodes/65-91b429e4-e810-4457-8aca-523833c043ae.
[38] Marisa Sarnoff, “Oath Keepers lawyer who made infamous ‘Lord of the Rings’ argument in pro-Trump lawsuit deemed ‘mentally incompetent’ for her Jan. 6 trial,” Law and Crime, June 20, 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/oath-keepers-lawyer-who-made-infamous-lord-of-the-rings-argument-in-pro-trump-lawsuit-deemed-mentally-incompetent-for-her-jan-6-trial/.
[39] Casey Gannon, “Oath Keepers-linked attorney ruled incompetent to stand trial, will get mental treatment in custody,” CNN, June 20, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/politics/sorelle-oath-keepers/index.html.
There are no recorded name changes for this group.
- 2014-15: 5,000 members (Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center)[1]
- 2020: 1,000-3,000 members (Anti-Defamation League)[2]
In 2014, Rhodes claimed that the Oath Keepers had 35,000 dues-paying members, but independent estimates doubt this figure.[3] In 2020, reporters at The Atlantic obtained a copy of an internal Oath Keepers membership list with about 25,000 names.[4] In September 2021, the non-profit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published an Oath Keepers membership list that had more than more than 38,000 names.[5] It is unclear how many members are active in the group or participate in violent acts. Some members, such as a retired Texas state trooper interviewed by POLITICO, have suggested that they joined the group as a networking opportunity and are not active.[6]
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020.
[2] “Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. November 3, 2020. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers.
[3] “Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers. ; Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020.
[4] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/.
[5] “The Oath Keepers Data Leak: Unmasking Extremism in Public Life.” Anti-Defamation League. September 6, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/oath-keepers-data-leak-unmasking-extremism-public-life.
[6] O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
One of the ways in which the Oath Keepers has raised money is through membership dues. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, OK has “thousands of dues-paying members.”[1] In addition, the group has also raised money through charitable fundraising programs. For example, the group’s Indiana chapter reportedly enrolled in Kroger’s Community Rewards Program, an initiative in which customers of the supermarket chain can direct donations to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. On its website, the Oath Keepers encouraged the public to donate to the program as a way to support the organization. On January 19, 2021, Kroger announced that it would discontinue the Oath Keepers’ participation immediately.[2] The Indiana Oath Keepers also participated in AmazonSmile, a program that allows Amazon.com customers to donate 0.5 percent of purchases to a charity of their choice.[3] Amazon banned the Oath Keepers after the group’s use of AmazonSmile became widely known in the wake of the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.[4] It is unclear whether other chapters of the Oath Keepers or the national leadership have engaged in similar fundraising drives. In January 2022, Phillip Linder, Stewart Rhodes’ defense attorney, launched a campaign to raise funds for Rhodes’ legal defense on GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site that hosts fundraisers for other extremist figures and organizations, including for the Proud Boys’ leader Enrique Tarrio.[5] The campaign’s goal was set at $250,000. As of December 2022, the fundraiser had collected just over $12,500, or five percent of its target.[6]
Stewart Rhodes has been criticized for his spending of the group’s funds.[7] According to bank records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Rhodes spent thousands of dollars of OK’s funds on various personal expenses, including at an auto-repair shop, pet store, dentist, bar, and gun store. One veteran who served as an IT manager for the Oath Keepers in 2015, Ed Wilson, claimed that Rhodes used the group’s funds “as a piggybank.” Rhodes denied the allegations, calling them “petty, stupid and salacious.”[8]
[1] Miller, Cassie, Hannah Gais and Megan Squire. “Funding Hate: How extremists like the ones who attacked the Capitol are making money off the internet.” Southern Poverty Law Center. April 1, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2021/04/01/funding-hate-how-extremists-ones-who-attacked-capitol-are-making-money-internet.
[2] Swilley, Kristen. “Kroger pulls militia group Oath Keepers from Community Rewards donation program.” WCPO. January 19, 2021. https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/kroger-pulls-militia-group-oath-keepers-from-community-rewards-donation-program.
[3] Ongweso, Edward, Jr. “Amazon Is Helping to Fund a Militia That Stormed the Capitol.” VICE News. January 20, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bmg4/amazon-is-helping-to-fund-a-militia-that-stormed-the-capital.
[4] Peters, Jay. “Amazon bans Oath Keepers and Three Percenters groups from charitable shopping program.” The Verge. January 25, 2021. https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/25/22248640/amazon-amazonsmile-oath-keepers-three-percenters-ban.
[5] “Stewart Rhodes Legal Defense Fund.” GiveSendGo. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.givesendgo.com/G2H2P. ; Brittain, Amy, and David Willman. “‘A Place to Fund Hope’: How Proud Boys and Other FringeGroups Found Refuge on a Christian Fundraising Website.” The Washington Post. January 19, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/a-place-to-fund-hope-how-proud-boys-and-other-fringe-groups-found-refuge-on-a-christian-fundraising-website/2021/01/18/14a536ee-574b-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html.
[6] “Stewart Rhodes Legal Defense Fund.” GiveSendGo. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.givesendgo.com/G2H2P. ; Dickinson, Tom. “Go Fund Yourself! The Public Isn’t Interested in Paying Top Oath Keeper’s Jan. 6 Legal Bills.” RollingStone. April 13, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jan6-oathkeeper-stewart-rhodes-sidney-powell-1336552/.
[7] Ballhaus, Rebecca, Khadeeja Safdar, and Shalini Ramachandran. “Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil.” The Wall Street Journal. June 16, 2021. https://www.wsj.com/articles/proud-boys-and-oath-keepers-forceful-on-jan-6-privately-are-in-turmoil-11623859785.
[8] Ballhaus, Rebecca, Khadeeja Safdar, and Shalini Ramachandran. “Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil.” The Wall Street Journal. June 16, 2021. https://www.wsj.com/articles/proud-boys-and-oath-keepers-forceful-on-jan-6-privately-are-in-turmoil-11623859785.
Disclaimer: This is a partial list of where the militant organization has bases and where it operates. This does not include information on where the group conducts major attacks or has external influences.
The Oath Keepers is a national organization that operates across the United States. OK claims to have chapters in all fifty U.S. states.[1] This claim has not been independently verified, but it is clear that OK is active in multiple areas around the country. Though OK is nationwide, the organization has historically had a greater presence in the western United States. Rhodes is based in Montana and founded the group there in 2009.[2] The national Oath Keepers is officially registered as a nonprofit in Nevada using the address of a Las Vegas law firm.[3] OK rose to prominence by participating in armed standoffs with federal agents in the West, including Oregon and Nevada, along with other activists and militants belonging to the militia/patriot movement. In several Western states, including Arizona, Idaho, and Texas, members of OK have won election to public office while openly affiliated with the organization.[4] This may suggest a heavier Oath Keepers presence in these areas and a degree of public support. The Oath Keepers is not limited to the West, however. Other notable Oath Keepers chapters include the Indiana chapter, which has caught attention for its aggressive fundraising via charitable giving drives;[5] the New Jersey chapter, which was involved in congressional races in 2016 and 2020;[6] and the North Carolina chapter, which split from the national organization after the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.[7] For more information on OK’s role in the assault on the Capitol and the North Carolina Oath Keepers’ decision to leave, please see the Narrative Summary and Relationships with Other Groups sections of this profile.
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 29.
[2] Beck, Madelyn. “The Oath Keepers: A Look At The Anti-Government Group Born In The Mountain West.” Boise State Public Radio. February 1, 2021. https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/oath-keepers-look-anti-government-group-born-mountain-west#stream/0.
[3] East, Andy. “A local connection: Indiana Oath Keepers confirms group in Bartholomew County.” The Columbus Republic. January 31, 2021. http://www.therepublic.com/2021/01/31/a-local-connection-indiana-oath-keepers-confirms-group-in-bartholomew-county/.
[4] “‘Oath keeper’ running for House seat.” inMaricopa.com. July 30, 2014. http://www.inmaricopa.com/mark-finchem-arizona-house-candidate/. ; Aleshire, Peter. “Senate candidate claims membership in controversial militia.” Payson Roundup. October 27, 2020. https://www.paysonroundup.com/elections_2018/senate-candidate-claims-membership-in-controversial-militia/article_df7dd5e0-210a-5288-90c6-58b84ad35f9f.html. ; “Coming to a Town Near You: Taxpayer-Funded Extremism.” Southern Poverty Law Center. November 6, 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/11/06.
/coming-town-near-you-taxpayer-funded-extremism. “Representative Chad Christensen (R).” Idaho State Legislature. https://legislature.idaho.gov/legislators/membership/2019/id5369/. ; O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
[5] Swilley, Kristen. “Kroger pulls militia group Oath Keepers from Community Rewards donation program.” WCPO. January 19, 2021. https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/kroger-pulls-militia-group-oath-keepers-from-community-rewards-donation-program. ; Ongweso, Edward, Jr. “Amazon Is Helping to Fund a Militia That Stormed the Capitol.” VICE News. January 20, 2021. https://www.vice.com
/en/article/g5bmg4/amazon-is-helping-to-fund-a-militia-that-stormed-the-capital.
[6] Green, Joshua. “Republican Chairman of Wall Street Committee Held Fundraiser With Official From ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Group.” Bloomberg. October 6, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-06/scott-garrett-fundraiser-terror-group#xj4y7vzkg. ; Biryukov, Nikita. “Pallotta doubles down on support for NJ-based domestic terror group in debate vs. Gottheimer.” New Jersey Globe. October 25, 2020. https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/pallotta-doubles-down-on-support-for-nj-based-domestic-terror-group-in-debate-vs-gottheimer/.
[7] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following-jan-6/.
Strategy
The Oath Keepers’ ideology aligns with the anti-government patriot/militia movement, which claims that collaboration between the federal government and global elites threaten the American way of life. Known as the New World Order, this supposed cabal of elites is supposedly bent on dismantling the rights of U.S. citizens, most notably the Second Amendment right to bear firearms.[1] After the government declares martial law with the support of the United Nations and foreign troops, U.S. citizens’ guns will be confiscated, those who resist will be interned in concentration camps, and the country will be annexed into the New World Order socialist world government.[2] New World Order conspiracies are at the front of OK’s ideology. For example, in early 2021, Rhodes began promoting a similar conspiracy theory originated by Alex Jones. The theory posits that a Chinese-led New World Order, known as the Chicom Globalists, is plotting against the United States with the assistance of Joe Biden.[3] OK has also accused figures including Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, and George Soros of being malignant “globalists.”[4]
According to the Oath Keepers, the group’s primary mission is to “prevent the destruction of American liberty by preventing a full-blown totalitarian dictatorship from coming to power.”[5] An article published by Rhodes in S.W.A.T. Magazine in 2008 laid out an apocalyptic vision of the future and foreshadowed OK’s ideology. Imagining a world in which Hillary Clinton (“Herr Hitlery”) were elected president, he predicted that she would declare a national emergency and use it as a pretext to seize firearms, ban the patriot/militia movement and condemn its members to military detention, and leverage the powers of the federal government to become a dictator.[6] This article reportedly catapulted Rhodes to greater recognition in the American far right. Rhodes parlayed this attention into speaking slots at right-wing conferences during the rise of the Tea Party backlash to Barack Obama’s presidency.[7]
OK sees its role as safeguarding Americans from an overzealous federal government that fails to respect basic American freedoms. Invoking language from the Declaration of Independence in its public statements, OK depicts itself as the guardian of Americans’ natural and unalienable rights. These “inalienable, natural rights,” Rhodes has stated, “are ours by virtue of ‘nature and nature’s God.’”[8] OK conceives of natural rights imbued independently from the government, rather than being granted by it. Rhodes has stated publicly that “rights come first, then government is created to protect them, not the other way around.”[9] OK considers the federal government a threat to the free exercise of natural rights guaranteed under OK’s interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. For example, OK has publicly stated that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) “cares not one whit about your or my unalienable rights or our Constitutional protection as American citizens.” The group has also accused ATF of being “hell-bent on tormenting” patriots.[10]
The name “Oath Keepers” refers to the oath taken by members of the military and law enforcement to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”[11] OK prioritizes the recruitment of the military and law enforcement members, who, by virtue of their positions, take this oath. OK’s driving motivation is to uphold this oath in the face of supposed threats from the federal government and New World Order globalists. OK seeks to persuade members of the military and law enforcement to adopt OK’s interpretation of the Constitution, to the extent of disobeying orders given by commanders or other government officials.[12] As such, OK’s foundational text is called the “Declaration of Orders We Will Not Obey.” Rhodes articulated the Declaration during OK’s founding ceremony on April 19, 2009.[13] It consists of a list of ten hypothetical orders that, if given by the federal government, members of the group pledge to resist as unconstitutional. The orders generally correspond with tenets of the New World Order conspiracy theory popular with the patriot/militia movement and the fears raised by Rhodes in his 2008 magazine article.
All ten orders from Rhodes’s “Declaration of Orders We Will Not Obey” are reproduced below:
- We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people.
- We will NOT obey any order to conduct warrantless searches of the American people, their homes, vehicles, papers, or effects – such as warrantless house-to-house searches for weapons or persons.
- We will NOT obey any order to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to trial by military tribunal.
- We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state, or to enter with force into a state, without the express consent and invitation of that state’s legislature and governor.
- We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union.
- We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
- 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 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” during any emergency, or under any other pretext. We will consider such use of foreign troops against our people to be an invasion and an act of war.
- We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies, under any emergency pretext whatsoever.
- We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peacefully assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.[14]
In addition to its roots in New World Order conspiracy theories, the Declaration also references early American history. The text opens with a quote from a speech George Washington gave to his troops: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.”[15] Rhodes then declares that “such a time is near at hand again,”[16] drawing a parallel between his group’s opposition to the U.S. federal government and the American colonists’ struggle against Great Britain. Of the ten “Orders We Will Not Obey,” seven make comparisons between the current political environment and colonial Britain’s abuses, such as seizure of arms, warrantless searches, and confiscation of property.[17]
Rhodes’ selection of a date and location for the founding ceremony of the Oath Keepers also makes allusions to early American history. He chose Lexington, Massachusetts, the site of the outbreak of the American Revolution, and April 19, 2009, the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Over the years since OK’s founding, Rhodes has not strayed from this messaging. In a call to resist the incoming Biden administration in January 2021, Rhodes urged OK members to “prepare to walk the same path as the Founding Fathers.”[18] The repeated historical references position the Oath Keepers as descendants of the 18th-century American patriots and the federal government as a modern-day colonial Britain. Given many U.S. citizens’ belief that the American Revolution was justified, OK’s purposeful association with this time period is a strategic means to gain greater public legitimacy.[19]
Around 2016-2017, OK’s ideology began to shift away from its obsession with the federal government and adopted a new focus on the anti-fascist movement known as antifa. With his election to the presidency, Donald Trump promised to fight the “deep state” loathed by the anti-government groups. After Trump’s arrival in the White House, a longtime enemy of the patriot/militia movement – the leader of the federal government – suddenly became an ally, according to right-wing extremism expert J.J. MacNab.[20] New World Order conspiracy theories were no longer as potent without a traditional president occupying the White House. As a result, the movement was thrust into confusion.[21] It soon had a new nemesis, however. Once antifa began targeting Trump and Trump supporters, patriot/militia extremist groups coalesced around raising antifa as their primary adversary.[22]
After Trump’s election, OK supported his administration.[23] With Trump in the White House, the group adopted a new focus on antifa, pivoting away from its traditional adversary, the U.S. government.[24] Maintaining a focus on conspiracy theories in the New World Order tradition, OK dropped its fear of the federal government collaborating with overseas enemies, instead emphasizing the dangers of the deep state, globalists, and leftist groups.[25] This new stance led Rhodes to adopt positions at odds with OK’s previous posture, such as a call for Trump to impose martial law after Biden’s presidential election victory.[26] As articulated above, martial law is the fourth order in the list of “Orders We Will Not Obey.” Bitterly opposed to the rise of the antifa movement and Biden’s presidency, OK regards the Biden administration as illegitimate and has advanced the idea that a civil war is imminent in the United States.[27]
Though OK is principally an anti-government extremist group, it has also published some nativist content, including screeds against undocumented immigrants and Islam.[28] For example, in 2016, OK officially endorsed Matt Bracken’s Islamophobic essay “Tet Take Two: Islam’s 2016 European Offensive,” which calls Islam “a ringworm infection.”[29] As a group, however, OK itself is not organized around white supremacist ideas. Rhodes has rejected white supremacism, saying in April 2017 that “I dislike the neo-Nazis more than Anti-fa, since they try to worm their way in and by doing so, they harm the cause of liberty far more than the radical leftists could ever do.”[30] In 2014, Rhodes said that “I’m a quarter Mexican, so it’s kind of hard for me to be a white supremacist” and noted that the Oath Keepers has Black members.[31] OK has prominently displayed images of members of color on its website, but photos from its events have suggested that most members are white.[32] Rhodes has also stated that OK condemns anti-Semitism.[33] When OK decided to patrol Ferguson, Missouri during unrest after the death of Michael Brown, Rhodes insisted that the group’s intervention was not racially motivated and pointed to the fact that OK protected businesses owned by residents of color.[34] However, in the name of “free speech,” OK and other patriot/militia organizations have also provided security to groups and individuals belonging to the alt-right movement that espouse white supremacist views.[35] Notably, OK also rejected a chapter leader’s suggestion to organize a march in support of Black people’s Second Amendment rights in 2015.[36]
In addition to avoiding association with white supremacism, leaders of the Oath Keepers reject characterizations of their group and its ideology as extreme or anti-government. In 2020, John D. Shirley, a former Texas chapter leader and an elected constable in Texas, wrote a blog post describing OK’s political stance as “nonpartisan” and the group’s mission as “almost exclusively dedicated to teaching first responders and soldiers to respect their oaths, know what the Constitution says and how that knowledge applies to their jobs.”[37]
[1] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. 2021. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers
[2] “Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers.
[3] Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-oath-keepers-trafficked-violence-and-conspiracy-theories.
[4] Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-oath-keepers-trafficked-violence-and-conspiracy-theories.
[5] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 29.
[6] Tabachnick, Rachel. “Profile on the Right: Oath Keepers.” Political Research Associates. April 23, 2015. https://politicalresearch.org/2015/04/23/profile-on-the-right-oathkeepers. ; Rhodes, Stewart. “Enemy at the Gate: Just Following Orders.” S.W.A.T. Magazine. April 2008. https://www.swatmag.com/article/enemy-gate-just-following-orders/.
[7] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-early-history-conflicts.
[8] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 65.
[9] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 65.
[10] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 67.
[11] “Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers.
[12] Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-oath-keepers-trafficked-violence-and-conspiracy-theories.
[13] “Elmer Stewart Rhodes.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes-0
[14] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142-148.
[15] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142.
[16] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142.
[17] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 142-148.
[18] Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-oath-keepers-trafficked-violence-and-conspiracy-theories.
[19] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 75-90.
[20] Michel, Casey. “How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists.” POLITICO. August 17, 2017. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/17/white-supremacists-militias-private-police-215498/.
[21] Michel, Casey. “How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists.” POLITICO. August 17, 2017. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/17/white-supremacists-militias-private-police-215498/.
[22] Pitcavage, Mark, interviewed by Dave Davies. “Armed Militias Face Off With The ‘Antifa’ In The New Landscape Of Political Protest.” Fresh Air. WBUR. August 23, 2017. https://www.wbur.org
/npr/545509627/armed-militias-face-off-with-the-antifa-in-the-new-landscape-of-political-protes.
[23] Lederman, Josh. “The founder of a far-right militia once warned of federal tyranny. Then came Trump.” NBC News. February 2, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/founder-far-right-militia-once-warned-federal-tyranny-then-came-n1256546.
[24] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020.
[25] Lederman, Josh. “The founder of a far-right militia once warned of federal tyranny. Then came Trump.” NBC News. February 2, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/founder-far-right-militia-once-warned-federal-tyranny-then-came-n1256546
[26] Stan, Adele M. “Oath Keepers’ Stewart Rhodes Calls for ‘Bloody War’ if Trump Doesn’t Invoke Insurrection Act.” Right Wing Watch. December 14, 2020. https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-calls-for-bloody-war-if-trump-doesnt-invoke-insurrection-act/.
[27] Simon, Mallory, Sara Sidner, and Anna-Maja Rappard. “Some of his followers are being sought by the FBI. It's not stopping the leader of the Oath Keepers.” CNN. February 15, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/15/politics/capitol-riot-oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-soh/index.html. ; Goldwasser, Rachel. “Well Before The Jan. 6 Insurrection, Oath Keepers Trafficked in Violence and Conspiracy Theories.” Southern Poverty Law Center. February 12, 2021. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/02/12/well-jan-6-insurrection-oath-keepers-trafficked-violence-and-conspiracy-theories.
[28] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 34-35.
[29] “‘Alt-Right’ Declares Flame War On Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. June 15, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/06/15/alt-right-declares-flame-war-oath-keepers.
[30] Hawkins, Derek. “‘Boomer antifa’: White supremacists rip into paramilitary Oath Keepers for not being racist enough.” The Washington Post. June 16, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com
/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/16/boomer-antifa-white-supremacists-rip-into-paramilitary-oath-keepers-for-not-being-racist-enough/.
[31] Heffernan, Brian. “In Ferguson, Oath Keepers draw both suspicion and gratitude.” Al Jazeera America. December 14, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/14/oath-keepers-fergusonprotests.html.
[32] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 33-34.
[33] Balko, Randy. “An Interview With Stewart Rhodes.” Reason. February 7, 2011. https://reason.com/2011/02/07/an-interview-with-stewart-rhod/?print=.
[34] Hay, Mark. “The Leader of Oath Keepers Says the Right-Wing Group Is in Ferguson to ‘Protect the Weak.’” VICE News. December 1, 2014. https://www.vice.com/en/article/av48bg/leader-of-oath-keepers-says-the-group-is-in-ferguson-to-protect-the-weak-1201.
[35] Michel, Casey. “How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists.” POLITICO. August 17, 2017. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/17/white-supremacists-militias-private-police-215498/.
[36] Feuer, Alan. “The Oath Keeper Who Wants to Arm Black Lives Matter.” Rolling Stone. January 3, 2016. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-oath-keeper-who-wants-to-arm-black-lives-matter-59109/.
[37] Shirley, John. “Oath Keepers: An Insider’s Perspective.” Hood County Today. February 25, 2020. https://hoodcountytoday.com/oath-keepers-an-insiders-perspective/.
The Oath Keepers actively engages in electoral politics on the national, state, and local levels. Members participate in demonstrations, support the campaigns of certain politicians, and run as candidates for public office. Though the Oath Keepers is officially nonpartisan, members most commonly support Republican politicians and run for office themselves as Republicans.[1] The national organization encouraged members’ campaigns. For example, in February 2020, OK leader Stewart Rhodes planned to hold a rally in support of Oath Keepers-aligned candidates for public office in Granbury, Texas.[2] The event was later canceled when the venue, a local golf club, declined to host the group.[3]
Presidential Elections
In 2016, OK mobilized in support of Donald Trump’s candidacy for the presidency. Though the national organization did not officially endorse his campaign, the group’s opposition to Hillary Clinton led many members to back Trump.[4] OK ultimately sent members to provide security to pro-Trump activists at rallies, and Rhodes himself was seen in the VIP section of a Trump rally wearing an Oath Keepers shirt.[5]
In both 2016 and 2020, the Oath Keepers pledged to protect elections from fraud. However, critics characterized these activities as election intimidation and misinformation. In October 2016, Rhodes called on members of his group to engage in “incognito intelligence gathering and crime spotting” at the polls, reiterating then-candidate Donald Trump’s allegations of election fraud.[6] Believing that Hillary Clinton would attempt to steal the election, Rhodes held webinars for Oath Keepers members on conducting poll surveillance and responding to election-related civil unrest.[7] The Oath Keepers adopted similar tactics during the 2020 election. In an October 2020 interview with well-known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Rhodes pledged that Oath Keepers would deploy undercover members, potentially with weapons, to protect voters from alleged intimidation by the political left.[8] However, in neither the 2016 nor 2020 elections was OK seen to have a major public presence at the polls.
After Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, the Oath Keepers supported President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud. Despite filing dozens of lawsuits contesting the election results on the basis of fraud, Trump and his allies failed to make a compelling case in the courts. These legal challenges have been overwhelmingly rejected by U.S. courts, including the Supreme Court. [9] According to USA Today, of the sixty-two lawsuits filed “challenging the presidential election, 61 have failed,” with decisions coming from both Democratic-appointed and Republican-appointed judges.[10] A week after Biden was declared the president-elect, the Oath Keepers joined like-minded groups including the Proud Boys and thousands of Trump supporters for the “Million MAGA March,” a demonstration in Washington, D.C. in support of the president on November 14, 2020.[11] At the march, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes repeated unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in an interview with The Independent. Rhodes also declared that the Oath Keepers would not recognize Joe Biden as the legitimate president of the United States.[12]
On January 6, 2021, the Oath Keepers joined Trump supporters and other extremist organizations in storming the U.S. Capitol in order to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory in the electoral college.[13] The riots began as a protest in support of President Trump but soon turned violent, ultimately leading to the death of five police officers and the wounding of 140 other officers from the Capitol Police and the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police.[14] It is unknown whether members of the Oath Keepers were responsible for these casualties. By November 2022, at least 25 people affiliated with OK had been charged for their involvement in the assault on the Capitol. Of the twenty-five defendants, eleven, including Rhodes, were charged with seditious conspiracy, with prosecutors alleging that they planned in advance to storm the Capitol and block congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election.[15] On November 29, 2022, Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs were convicted of seditious conspiracy.[16]
U.S. Congress
Oath Keepers chapters participated in U.S. congressional elections, both as candidates and as campaign operatives. For example, Oath Keepers member Wendy Rogers ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018.[17] In November 2020, Rogers was elected to the Arizona State Senate.
In 2020, New Jersey Oath Keepers member Bill Hayden served as the campaign manager for Frank Pallotta, a Republican congressional candidate who ultimately lost to incumbent Josh Gottheimer.[18] Pallotta refused to denounce the Oath Keepers and welcomed the group’s support for his campaign. He called Oath Keepers members “good people” and rejected characterizations of the group as a domestic terrorist organization.[19] In 2016, Gottheimer’s predecessor, then-Rep. Scott Garrett, attended a campaign fundraiser organized by Edward Durfee, a local Republican activist and leader of the New Jersey Oath Keepers chapter. At the event, Garrett praised Durfee as an “unsung hero.”[20] After Durfee’s affiliation with the Oath Keepers became publicly known, Garrett distanced himself from Durfee; the congressman’s campaign manager said that Garrett was unaware that Durfee was involved with OK.[21] In early 2021, Durfee declared that he was running for a New Jersey state assembly seat with the support of a local chapter of the Republican Party.[22]
The Oath Keepers has also sought to cultivate ties with members of Congress. For example, in July 2017, Oath Keepers invited Congressman Clay Higgins (R-La.) to headline a rally in Washington, D.C.[23] Wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the words “We the People,” Rep. Higgins spoke for approximately fifteen minutes about overreach by the federal government.[24] The Oath Keepers maintains a page on its website dedicated to sharing the congressman’s public statements.[25] Higgins also has ties to the Three Percenters militant organization.[26] In Arizona, the leader of the Yavapai County Oath Keepers chapter claims that Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) attended one of the group’s events.[27]
State Legislatures
Members of the Oath Keepers have sought election to state legislatures, most commonly in Western states. As of October 2023, several were serving in public office. In Idaho, Heather Scott, a Republican state representative since 2015, has publicly pledged allegiance to the Oath Keepers. She spoke at a June 2020 rally against COVID-19 public health measures at which the Oath Keepers provided security.[28] Chad Christensen – a Republican Idaho state representative who served from 2018-2022 – described himself as a member of the Oath Keepers in his official biography on the website of the Idaho legislature.[29]
In Arizona, Mark Finchem publicly identified himself as an Oath Keeper during his 2014 campaign for the Arizona House of Representatives. [30] He was successfully elected as a Republican in 2014. Before his election, Rep. Finchem spread conspiracy theories about the Obama administration and promoted Oath Keepers’ Community Preparedness Teams (CPT) initiative.[31] For more information on this program, see the Targets and Tactics section of this profile. The biography of his campaign’s Twitter account urged people to join the Oath Keepers.[32] In 2022, Finchem ran to be the Secretary of State of Arizona and won the Republican primary for the position. However, he lost to his Democratic opponent and ended his House term in January 2023.[33] Prior to the race, the newspaper Arizona Mirror reported that Finchem had received nearly $10,000 in donations from individuals with ties to OK.[34]
Also in Arizona, State Senator Wendy Rogers maintains public ties to the Oath Keepers. In November 2020, she won an Arizona State Senate seat as a Republican representing District 6 in central Arizona.[35] After a failed bid for Congress in 2018, Senator Rogers publicly affiliated with the Oath Keepers and boasted of her connections to the group in campaign literature.[36] A retired U.S. Air Force pilot and colonel, Sen. Rogers ran a campaign focused on protecting Arizona from the alleged threat of violence posed by the antifa movement and Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. These supposed threats are common themes found in OK rhetoric utilized by the national leadership and lower-levels of the organization.[37]
David Eastman, a Republican congressman in the Alaska House of Representatives, was in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. He allegedly attended the protest that preceded the insurrection at the Capitol but maintains that he did not enter the building. Eastman was listed as a “lifetime member” of the Oath Keepers in a list from OK web servers and has allegedly contributed more than $1,000 to the group.[38] A local newspaper reported in January 2022 that the Alaska House did not take action to punish Eastman for his involvement with OK.[39]
In late July 2022, Randall Kowalke, one of Eastman’s constituents, filed a lawsuit against Eastman with the goal of disqualifying him from holding office and removing him from the November general election ballot due to his membership in OK.[40] Kowalke’s lawsuit hinged on a provision in the Alaskan Constitution known as the disloyalty clause, which states that no one who “advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party or organization or association which advocates, the overthrow by force or violence of the government of the United States or of the State shall be qualified to hold” public office.[41] In September 2022, Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna ruled that Eastman was eligible to remain on the ballot.[42] However, McKenna “ordered that state elections officials delay certifying the Nov. 8 election for Republican Rep. David Eastman’s seat pending further order by the court.”[43]
Eastman won re-election with 51.3% of the vote.[44] Eastman’s trial began on December 13, 2022, and concluded after seven days of hearings.[45] During the trial, Stewart Rhodes testified on behalf of Eastman.[46] On December 30, 2022, Judge McKenna ruled that Eastman’s membership in the Oath Keepers “does not violate the Alaska Constitution’s disloyalty clause because of First Amendment protections for free speech.”[47] McKenna’s ruling means that Eastman is allowed to continue serving in the Alaska Legislature.
Elected Local Law Enforcement Offices
Members of the Oath Keepers have also run for elected local law enforcement offices across the country, including sheriff positions. Many in the organization believe that the sheriff is the supreme law enforcement authority in the United States – above federal agents – because the position is directly elected.[48] Oath Keepers members have sought to become sheriffs in order to promote their interpretation of the Constitution and resist federal power.[49] For example, in 2010, the first major U.S. election year after the group’s founding, about a dozen members ran for sheriff, most in Western states including California, Colorado, and Montana.[50] Internal Oath Keepers chats leaked in November 2020 revealed systematic efforts to organize sheriffs in support of the group’s beliefs. Oath Keepers’ private forum included an “Outreach to County Sheriff Guide” with tips on recruiting sheriffs to the cause and propaganda materials to share with sheriffs.[51] The Oath Keepers has worked closely with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), a flagship organization of sheriffs aligned with the patriot/militia movement, in its appeals to sheriffs.[52] In 2016, the New York chapter of Oath Keepers presented David Clarke Jr – sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin and a vocal critic of the Black Lives Matter movement – with a “leadership award.”[53] The total number of OK-affiliated sheriffs is unknown.
John D. Shirley, an elected constable of Hood County, Texas, is a high-profile law enforcement official affiliated with the Oath Keepers. The constable role is similar to that of a sheriff and includes the power to serve warrants and subpoenas and make arrests. Shirley has been a member of OK for about as long as the group has been active and has served in OK leadership roles, including as Texas chapter president and as a member of the group’s national board of directors.[54] In late November 2020, he announced his decision to retire as an active member of the Oath Keepers.[55]
[1] Shirley, John. “Oath Keepers: An Insider’s Perspective.” Hood County Today. February 25, 2020. https://hoodcountytoday.com/oath-keepers-an-insiders-perspective/.
[2] “Anti-government group to meet in Granbury.” Hood County News. February 20, 2020. https://www.hcnews.com/mailchimp-morning-update-news/anti-government-group-meet-granbury.
[3] “Oath Keepers Meeting Cancelled.” Hood County News. February 21, 2020. https://www.hcnews.com/mailchimp-morning-update-news/oath-keepers-meeting-cancelled.
[4] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 58.
[5] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/.
[6] Sullivan, Kevin. “Militia group calls on members to patrol polls on Election Day.” The Washington Post. October 27, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/27/militia-group-calls-on-members-to-patrol-polls-on-election-day/.
[7] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 58.
[8] Greenspan, Rachel E. “Far-right armed group leader says militants will 'stand up and protect people on Election Day' in an interview with Alex Jones.” Insider. October 29, 2020. https://www.insider.com/far-right-militant-leader-election-day-alex-jones-2020-10.
[9] Cummings, William, Joey Garrison and Jim Sergent. “By the numbers: President Donald Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the election.” USA Today. January 6, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/trumps-failed-efforts-overturn-election-numbers/4130307001/.
[10] Cummings, William, Joey Garrison and Jim Sergent. “By the numbers: President Donald Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the election.” USA Today. January 6, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/trumps-failed-efforts-overturn-election-numbers/4130307001/.
[11] “Million MAGA March: Thousands of pro-Trump protesters rally in Washington DC.” BBC News. November 15, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54945154.
[12] Connolly, Griffin and Richard Hall. “America’s largest militia says it will refuse to recognise Biden as president and ‘resist’ his administration.” The Independent. November 15, 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/oath-keepers-militia-donald-trump-joe-biden-2020-election-b1723323.html.
[13] Liu, Diana. “Who are these militia seen charging up the steps during the US Capitol siege?” France24. January 12, 2021. https://observers.france24.com/en/americas/20210112-us-militia-oath-keepers-three-percenters-capitol-assault.
[14] Jackman, Tom. “Police union says 140 officers injured in Capitol Riot. The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-union-says-140-officers-injured-in-capitol-riot/2021/01/27/60743642-60e2-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html.
[15] Feuer, Alan and Katie Benner. “More Oath Keeper Suspects Charged in Capitol Riot Plot.” The New York Times. February 19, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/oath-keepers-capitol-riot-plot.html. ; “Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. November 3, 2020. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers.
[16] Cheney, Kyle. “Jury convicts Oath Keepers leader of seditious conspiracy.” POLITICO. November 29, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-verdict-00071248.
[17] Aleshire, Peter. “Senate candidate claims membership in controversial militia.” Payson Roundup. October 27, 2020. https://www.paysonroundup.com/elections_2018/senate-candidate-claims-membership-in-controversial-militia/article_df7dd5e0-210a-5288-90c6-58b84ad35f9f.html.
[18] Birukov, Nikita. “New Gottheimer ad hits Pallotta over Oath Keepers.” New Jersey Globe. October 29, 2020. https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/new-gottheimer-ad-hits-pallotta-over-oath-keepers/.
[19] Biryukov, Nikita. “Pallotta doubles down on support for NJ-based domestic terror group in debate vs. Gottheimer.” New Jersey Globe. October 25, 2020. https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/pallotta-doubles-down-on-support-for-nj-based-domestic-terror-group-in-debate-vs-gottheimer/.
[20] Green, Joshua. “Republican Chairman of Wall Street Committee Held Fundraiser With Official From ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Group.” Bloomberg. October 6, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-06/scott-garrett-fundraiser-terror-group.
[21] Salant, Johnathan D. “Organizer of Garrett event has ties to militia extremist group.” NJ.com. January 16, 2019. https://www.nj.com/politics/2016/10/a_garrett_events_unsavory_connections.html.
[22] Katz, Matt. “An Oath Keeper Did Security For The Capitol Rally. Now, He’s A Republican Candidate for NJ Assembly.” Gothamist. April 9, 2021. https://gothamist.com/news/an-oath-keeper-did-security-for-the-capitol-rally-now-hes-a-republican-candidate-for-nj-assembly.
[23] “Coming to a Town Near You: Taxpayer-Funded Extremism.” Southern Poverty Law Center. November 6, 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/11/06/coming-town-near-you-taxpayer-funded-extremism.
[24] White, Lamar Jr. “Captain of the Militia.” Bayou Brief. August 13, 2018. https://www.bayoubrief.com
/2018/08/13/captain-of-the-militia/.
[25] “Coming to a Town Near You: Taxpayer-Funded Extremism.” Southern Poverty Law Center. November 6, 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/11/06/coming-town-near-you-taxpayer-funded-extremism.
[26] White, Lamar Jr. “Captain of the Militia.” Bayou Brief. August 13, 2018. https://www.bayoubrief.com
/2018/08/13/captain-of-the-militia/.
[27] Crenshaw, Zach. “Oath Keepers look to recruit in Arizona with alarmist 'Civil War' rhetoric.” ABC 15 News. February 18, 2021. https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/oath-keepers-look-to-recruit-in-arizona-with-alarmist-civil-war-rhetoric.
[28] “Coming to a Town Near You: Taxpayer-Funded Extremism.” Southern Poverty Law Center. November 6, 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/11/06/coming-town-near-you-taxpayer-funded-extremism
[29] “Representative Chad Christensen (R).” Idaho State Legislature. https://legislature.idaho.gov
/legislators/membership/2019/id5369/.
[30] “‘Oath keeper’ running for House seat.” inMaricopa.com. July 30, 2014. http://www.inmaricopa.com/mark-finchem-arizona-house-candidate/.
[31] Flaherty, Joseph. “From Charlottesville to Oath Keepers, Rep. Mark Finchem Is a Fringe Lawmaker.” Phoenix New Times. March 22, 2019. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/rep-mark-finchem-oathkeepers-charlottesville-deep-state-conspiracy-11249452.
[32] Flaherty, Joseph. “From Charlottesville to Oath Keepers, Rep. Mark Finchem Is a Fringe Lawmaker.” Phoenix New Times. March 22, 2019. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/rep-mark-finchem-oathkeepers-charlottesville-deep-state-conspiracy-11249452.
[33] Corasaniti, Nick. “Fontes Defeats Finchem, Vocal Election Denier, for Arizona Secretary of State.” New York Times, November 11, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/us/politics/arizona-secretary-of-state-adrian-fontes-finchem.html ; Richards, Zoë. “Election denier Mark Finchem loses secretary of state race in Arizona.” NBC News. November 11, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/election-denier-mark-finchem-loses-secretary-state-race-arizona-rcna56880.
[34] Macdonald-Evoy, Jerod. “Mark Finchem has raised nearly $10,000 from Oath Keepers.” Arizona Mirror. October 31, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/blog/mark-finchem-has-raised-nearly-10000-from-oath-keepers/.
[35] “Results for the Arizona state House, Senate races in 2020 election.” 12 News. 3 November 2020. https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/results-election-arizona-state-house-senate-race-legislature/75-a2b8a9f6-77a1-4754-818c-bbaab0bb8b99.
[36] Aleshire, Peter. “Senate candidate claims membership in controversial militia.” Payson Roundup. October 27, 2020. https://www.paysonroundup.com/elections_2018/senate-candidate-claims-membership-in-controversial-militia/article_df7dd5e0-210a-5288-90c6-58b84ad35f9f.html.
[37] Aleshire, Peter. “Senate candidate claims membership in controversial militia.” Payson Roundup. October 27, 2020. https://www.paysonroundup.com/elections_2018/senate-candidate-claims-membership-in-controversial-militia/article_df7dd5e0-210a-5288-90c6-58b84ad35f9f.html.
[38] Thiessen, Mark. “Trial starts; Alaska lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties.” Associated Press. December 14, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-lawsuits-anchorage-government-and-politics-a7d93b054381668cfba43fe44609c6ec. ; Brooks, James. “Leaked list shows Alaska state Rep. David Eastman is a ‘lifetime member’ of a leading Capitol-riot group.” Anchorage Daily News. October 20, 2021. https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/10/20/leaked-list-shows-alaska-state-rep-david-eastman-is-a-lifetime-member-of-a-leading-capitol-riot-group/.
[39] Kitchenman, Andrew. “Alaska House Takes No Action against Eastman for Oath Keepers Membership.” KTOO Public Media, January 31, 2022. https://www.ktoo.org/2022/01/31/rep-david-eastman-not-punished-for-oath-keepers-membership/.
[40] Manning, Phillip. “Former Borough Assembly Member Sues to have Rep. Eastman Removed Over Oath Keepers Membership.” KTNA. August 10, 2022. https://ktna.org/2022/08/former-borough-assembly-member-sues-to-have-rep-eastman-removed-over-oath-keepers-membership/.
[41] “EDITORIAL: The danger at the heart of the Eastman lawsuit.” Anchorage Daily News. October 15, 2022. https://www.adn.com/opinions/editorials/2022/10/15/editorial-the-danger-at-the-heart-of-the-eastman-lawsuit/.
[42] Grove, Casey. “Wasilla Rep. Eastman to stay on ballot, but post-election trial will decide his eligibility, judge says.” Alaska Public Media. September 26, 2022. https://alaskapublic.org/2022/09/26/wasilla-rep-eastman-to-stay-on-ballot-but-post-election-trial-will-decide-his-eligibility-judge-says/.
[43] Bohrer, Becky. “Judge weighs how to proceed on case against Alaska lawmaker.” Associated Press. December 8, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-alaska-lawsuits-juneau-b9cdec3027c292fdfac88673b180a57f.
[44] Brooks, James. “Alaska certifies final election results, but three state House races face further hurdles.” Alaska Beacon. November 30, 2022. https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/alaska-certifies-final-election-results-but-three-state-house-races-face-further-hurdles/.
[45] Thiessen, Mark. “Trial starts; Alaska lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties.” Associated Press. December 14, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-lawsuits-anchorage-government-and-politics-a7d93b054381668cfba43fe44609c6ec. ; Schreck, Carly. “Wasilla lawmaker’s fight to keep legislative seat nears closing arguments.” Alaska News Source. December 21, 2022. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/12/21/wasilla-lawmakers-fight-keep-legislative-seat-nears-closing-arguments/.
[46] Ruskin, Liz. “Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes testifies in Alaska Rep. Eastman’s defense.” Alaska Public Media. December 19, 2022. https://alaskapublic.org/2022/12/19/oath-keeper-founder-stewart-rhodes-testifies-in-alaska-rep-eastmans-defense/.
[47] Brooks, James. “Oath Keepers seek to overthrow government, judge says, but First Amendment protects Eastman.” Alaska Public Media. December 23, 2022. https://alaskapublic.org/2022/12/23/oath-keepers-seek-to-overthrow-government-judge-says-but-first-amendment-protects-eastman/.
[48] Gouras, Matt. “In Lincoln County and across the West: Oath Keepers want sheriff back as top cop.” Missoulian. June 1, 2010. https://missoulian.com/news/local/in-lincoln-county-and-across-the-west-oath-keepers-want-sheriff-back-as-top-cop/article_78694692-6cbb-11df-af19-001cc4c002e0.html.
[49] Gouras, Matt. “In Lincoln County and across the West: Oath Keepers want sheriff back as top cop.” Missoulian. June 1, 2010. https://missoulian.com/news/local/in-lincoln-county-and-across-the-west-oath-keepers-want-sheriff-back-as-top-cop/article_78694692-6cbb-11df-af19-001cc4c002e0.html.
[50] Gouras, Matt. “In Lincoln County and across the West: Oath Keepers want sheriff back as top cop.” Missoulian. June 1, 2010. https://missoulian.com/news/local/in-lincoln-county-and-across-the-west-oath-keepers-want-sheriff-back-as-top-cop/article_78694692-6cbb-11df-af19-001cc4c002e0.html.
[51] “‘It’s Time to Start Killing the News Media Live on Air’: Oath Keepers Private Chats Show Increased Desire for Post-Election Violence.” Unicorn Riot. November 16, 2020. https://unicornriot.ninja/2020/its-time-to-start-killing-the-news-media-live-on-air-oath-keepers-private-chats-show-increased-desire-for-post-election-violence/.
[52] Cooper, Cloee, Ethan Fauré, and Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann. “Mapping Far-Right and Anti-Immigrant Movement Alignment with County Sheriffs.” Political Research Associates. September 14, 2020. https://www.politicalresearch.org/2020/09/14/mapping-far-right-and-anti-immigrant-movement-alignment-county-sheriffs.
[53] “Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., Reported Headed to DHS, Has Ties to Extremist Groups.” Anti-Defamation League. May 18, 2017. https://www.adl.org/blog/wisconsin-sheriff-david-clarke-jr-reported-headed-to-dhs-has-ties-to-extremist-groups.
[54] O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
[55] O’Rourke, Ciara. “How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government.” POLITICO. December 9, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/09/oath-keepers-far-right-group-infiltrate-local-government-texas-443773.
This section focuses on OK’s targets and tactics relating to the threat and use of violence. Other key Oath Keepers tactics include appeals to community support and involvement in politics. For a description of some of the tactics involved in the Oath Keepers’ public-facing strategy, see the Community Relations section of this profile. For more information on Oath Keepers’ participation in electoral politics, see the Political Activities section. For targets of recruitment, see the Resources section.
The Oath Keepers has not typically conducted attacks with human casualties. The group’s primary tactics include armed confrontations and security operations, which leverage the threat of violence to achieve political goals or express political messages. In security operations, OK militants deploy to certain locations with the goal of keeping communities safe from known or unknown adversaries. The choice of target and venue accords with the group’s political views.
Several of OK’s most well-known operations have targeted symbols of government power, particularly federal land use regulators, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. For example, in April 2015, OK militants traveled to Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, to support other activists in an armed standoff with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents. The agents were attempting to confiscate Bundy’s cattle per a court order over Bundy’s unpaid grazing fees for use of federal land.[1] The next year, OK militants patrolled the Sugar Pine Mine in Oregon at the request of the mine owners to prevent BLM agents from coming to shut down unauthorized mining activity.[2] In 2016, some members of the Oath Keepers participated in an occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in protest of the arson conviction of two men for burning brush on federal land. The OK national leadership condemned the occupation and organized an armed buffer force to keep the peace between the occupiers and the authorities.[3]
Beyond land use disputes with the federal government, other targets of OK operations include Black Lives Matter protesters and the anti-fascist (antifa) movement. In 2014 and 2015, OK militants deployed to Ferguson, Missouri, to stand armed guard and counter the unrest associated with demonstrations against police brutality.[4] In the summer of 2020, OK sent militants to serve as security for businesses in Louisville, Kentucky during protests advocating justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black paramedic shot by police in her apartment.[5] In January 2017, Rhodes announced “Operation Defend J20” to provide security for President Donald Trump’s inauguration. In coordination with the Three Percenters and Bikers for Trump, OK sought to protect the event from political enemies on the left, such as antifa groups, and the Islamic State (IS).[6] OK also organized members to provide security at Trump campaign rallies in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Dallas, Texas in October 2019.[7] Along with other militia organizations, OK has provided security to groups belonging to the alt-right movement, ostensibly to protect free speech from antifa protesters.[8]
OK has also been known to engage in organizing armed patrols across the United States. Framed as a public safety asset, OK’s Community Preparedness Teams, or CPT, program (initially “Civilization Preservation Teams”) acts as an armed neighborhood watch. Members pledge to provide security and emergency services to local communities after natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other events.[9] CPTs have conducted paramilitary training on topics including weapons skills, patrolling techniques, and emergency relief.[10] OK has described CPTs as a step towards establishing a militia, hearkening back to the tradition of American colonial militias and alluding to the “well-regulated militia” mentioned in the Second Amendment. The CPTs aim to provide local security so that Americans will not need to rely on the U.S. government for their defense.[11] It is unknown how many CPTs have been established, and the last time there was evidence that the CPT program was active was 2016.[12] In 2018, OK announced the creation of an initiative similar to CPT, known as “Spartan Training Groups.”[13]
As of October 2023, the Oath Keepers’ most recent and highest profile operation was the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. OK’s participation in the insurrection does not fit the pattern of tactics used by the group in the past. Rather than providing security or participating in standoffs, OK militants actively participated in storming the Capitol. OK is believed to have played a major role. Groups of OK militants in tactical gear were seen roaming the Capitol complex and breaching security checkpoints.[14] Judging from a recording of an Oath Keeper leading the group’s charge on the Capitol, there may have been approximately thirty to forty members of the group there.[15] In an indictment filed on February 19, 2021, prosecutors argued that nine individuals affiliated with the Oath Keepers conspired to storm the Capitol and prevent electoral votes from being counted.[16] It remains to be seen whether OK will continue to utilize more offensive and violent tactics or revert to its previous tactics.
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 46-47.
[2] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[3] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 45-57.
[4] Fowler, Sarah. “Ferguson unrest: Who are the mysterious ‘Oath Keepers’?” BBC News. August 12, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33867245.
[5] Klemko, Robert. “Behind the armor: Men seek ‘purpose’ in protecting property despite charges of racism.” The Washington Post. October 5, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/behind-the-armor-men-seek-purpose-in-protecting-property-despite-charges-of-racism/2020/10/05/b8496fec-001e-11eb-9ceb-061d646d9c67_story.html.
[6] “Oath Keepers On Guard at Inauguration of President Donald Trump.” Southern Poverty Law Center. January 20, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/01/20/oath-keepers-guard-inauguration-president-donald-trump.
[7] “Militia-Style Group, ‘The Oath Keepers’, Seeks Volunteers To Protect Trump Supporters At Mpls. Rally.” CBS Minnesota. October 9, 2019. https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2019/10/09/militia-style-group-the-oath-keepers-seeks-volunteers-to-protect-trump-supporters-at-mpls-rally/. ; Garcia, Nic. “Militia-style group, Oath Keepers, will be in Dallas for Trump rally.” The Dallas Morning News. October 11, 2019. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/10/11/militia-style-group-oath-keepers-will-be-in-dallas-for-trump-rally/.
[8] Michel, Casey. “How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists.” POLITICO. August 17, 2017. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/17/white-supremacists-militias-private-police-215498/.
[9] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. September 17, 2015. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers. ; Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 44.
[10] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. September 17, 2015. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers.
[11] Lenz, Ryan and Mark Potok. “Seeds of Sedition.” Southern Poverty Law Center. August 3, 2016. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2016/seeds-sedition.
[12] Lenz, Ryan and Mark Potok. “Seeds of Sedition.” Southern Poverty Law Center. August 3, 2016. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2016/seeds-sedition.
[13] Neiwert, David. “Oath Keepers announce national ‘Spartan’ training program aimed at ‘violent left.’” Southern Poverty Law Center. August 23, 2018. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/08/23/oath-keepers-announce-national-‘spartan’-training-program-aimed-‘violent-left’.
[14] Liu, Diana. “Who are these militia seen charging up the steps during the US Capitol siege?” France24. January 12, 2021. https://observers.france24.com/en/americas/20210112-us-militia-oath-keepers-three-percenters-capitol-assault.
[15] Hsu, Spencer S., Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. “Self-styled militia members in three states began planning in November for recruits, weapons ahead of Capitol breach, U.S. alleges.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/self-styled-militia-members-in-three-states-began-planning-in-novembe-for-recruits-weapons-ahead-of-capitol-breach-us-alleges/2021/01/27/f13b0bfc-60b9-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html.
[16] “United States of America v. Thomas Edward Caldwell, Donovan Ray Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs, and Connie Meggs.” United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indictment filed February 19, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-superseding-indictment/42c4d9c52e4e4980/full.pdf

Major Attacks
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
The Oath Keepers does not have an extensive history of violence resulting in human casualties. This does not mean that the group is nonviolent, however. OK has often carried out operations that implicitly or explicitly threaten violence, such as participation in armed standoffs with federal agents and protesters. Most notably, the group participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. OK is also known for providing armed security, such as during unrest associated with protests against police brutality. Details on these operations are not included here but can be found in the Narrative Summary and the Targets and Tactics sections.
April 2014: Members of the Oath Keepers, including OK leader Stewart Rhodes, joined activists from around the United States in an armed standoff with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents in Bunkerville, Nevada, in support of rancher Cliven Bundy. The militants aimed to prevent BLM from confiscating Bundy’s cattle due to his refusal to pay grazing fees. This was OK’s first major operation (no casualties).[1]
April 2015: After being cited by U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for unauthorized mining activity at the Sugar Pine Mine, Rich Barclay and George Backes requested security support from the Oath Keepers. Members from around the country came for a weekslong armed patrol of the site to defy BLM (no casualties).[2]
January 2016 - February 2016: Unsanctioned by the Oath Keepers national leadership, some members (exact number unknown) participated in the occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to protest the conviction of two men for arson for burning brush on federal land. The OK national leadership approved the establishment of an armed patrol to serve as a buffer between the occupiers and federal agents (1 killed, unknown wounded).[3]
January 6, 2021: The Oath Keepers participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol along with members of other like-minded organizations, including the Three Percenters, Proud Boys, adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and other supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. The assault led to the deaths of three police officers and four protesters;140 police officers were injured, while the number of rioters injured is unknown (7 killed, at least 140 wounded).[4]
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 46-47.
[2] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine
[3] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 45-57.
[4] Cameron, Chris. “These Are the People Who Died in Connection with the Capitol Riot.” The New York Times. January 5, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html. ; Jackman, Tom. “Police union says 140 officers injured in Capitol riot.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-union-says-14….
Interactions
There are no designations or listings for this group.
The Oath Keepers actively appeals to the public for support and has taken steps to portray itself as a civil society organization with a positive community impact. For example, when the National Parks Service closed parks and memorials due to a federal government shutdown in October 2013, OK filmed Stewart Rhodes escorting a World War II veteran into the closed and barricaded World War II Memorial, highlighting the group’s support of the military.[1] In Oregon, the Josephine County Oath Keepers engaged in public service activities, including painting local houses, building a new playground, and assembling wheelchair ramps for neighbors in need.[2] A flagship OK initiative, Community Preparedness Teams (CPTs), encouraged OK members to join armed neighborhood watch groups to provide security and emergency services to local communities in response to public safety threats.[3] In 2017, OK organized to provide disaster relief to areas affected by hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.[4] OK has also sponsored NASCAR driver Jeffrey Earnhardt and displayed the OK logo on his car, purchased advertisements on billboards in the Washington, D.C. transit system and near military bases around the country, and sent care packages with OK materials to servicemembers.[5]
In addition to appeals to the general public, the Oath Keepers prioritizes positive relations with police departments in areas where OK chapters are active across the United States. For example, in an internal conference call on October 29, 2021, OK leaders shared best practices for building rapport with local police. During the call, Jessica Watkins, a leader of an OK affiliate in Ohio, shared an example of her militia’s efforts to establish a good relationship with law enforcement in her region.[6]
Recruitment Strategy
The Oath Keepers targets current and former military and law enforcement personnel for recruitment. According to the group’s bylaws, OK has two tiers of members: “full members” and “associate members.” Only retired and active-duty military personnel and first responders are entitled to full membership; others must join as associate members. Other than the difference in title, however, both full and associate members seem to enjoy the same privileges.[7]
According to a leaked membership database containing information on individuals who joined OK from 2009 through 2015, about two-thirds of the organization’s members came from a military or law enforcement background, and about ten percent of members were active-duty.[8] The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) reviewed the database and found over 300 OK members who described themselves as “current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).” DHS agencies include the Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Secret Service.[9] A more recent leak emerged in September 2021 when the non-profit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published an Oath Keepers membership list that had more than 38,000 names.[10] Within that list, the Anti-Defamation League identified hundreds of elected officials, law enforcement officers, and members of the military.[11]
Additionally, of nine suspected Oath Keepers charged with conspiracy for their alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, four were military veterans.[12] This included Thomas E. Caldwell, a retired Navy lieutenant commander.[13] The nine also included two members of an OK affiliate known as the Ohio State Regular Militia: Jessica Watkins, an Army veteran who deployed to Afghanistan,[14] and Donovan Crowl, a former Marine.[15] According to a confidential source within the Oath Keepers interviewed by CNN, the group has members working in federal law enforcement.[16] Their names are not included in the organization’s official membership list in order to give them plausible deniability.[17]
[1] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 45.
[2] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[3] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 44.
[4] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 61.
[5] “The Oath Keepers.” Anti-Defamation League. 2021. https://www.adl.org/Backgrounders/OathKeepers.
[6] Owen, Tess. “Oath Keepers Talked About Protecting the Capitol—Before They Stormed It.” VICE News. February 3, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/epd8x4/oath-keepers-talked-about-protecting-the-capitolbefore-they-stormed-it.
[7] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 31.
[8] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/.
[9] “Hundreds of Oath Keepers Have Worked for DHS, Leaked List Shows.” POGO. December 12, 2022. https://www.pogo.org/investigation/2022/12/hundreds-of-oath-keepers-have-worked-for-dhs-leaked-list-shows.
[10] “The Oath Keepers Data Leak: Unmasking Extremism in Public Life.” Anti-Defamation League. September 6, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/oath-keepers-data-leak-unmasking-extremism-public-life.
[11] “The Oath Keepers Data Leak: Unmasking Extremism in Public Life.” Anti-Defamation League. September 6, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/oath-keepers-data-leak-unmasking-extremism-public-life.
[12] Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer, Denise Lu, Eleanor Lutz, and Alex Leeds Matthews. “A Small Group of Militants’ Outsize Role in the Capitol Attack.” The New York Times. February 21, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/21/us/capitol-riot-attack-militants.html.
[13] Hsu, Spencer S., Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. “Self-styled militia members in three states began planning in November for recruits, weapons ahead of Capitol breach, U.S. alleges.” The Washington Post. January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/self-styled-militia-members-in-three-states-began-planning-in-novembe-for-recruits-weapons-ahead-of-capitol-breach-us-alleges/2021/01/27/f13b0bfc-60b9-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html.
[14] Garrison, Jessica and Ken Bensinger. “Meet The Woman Facing Some Of The Most Serious Capitol Riot Charges.” Buzzfeed News. January 27, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/conspiracy-charge-ohio-militia-capitol.
[15] Farrow, Ronan. “A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia.” The New Yorker. January 14, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-former-marine-stormed-the-capitol-as-part-of-a-far-right-militia.
[16] Simon, Mallory, Sara Sidner, and Anna-Maja Rappard. “Some of his followers are being sought by the FBI. It's not stopping the leader of the Oath Keepers.” CNN. February 15, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/15/politics/capitol-riot-oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-soh/index.html.
[17] Simon, Mallory, Sara Sidner, and Anna-Maja Rappard. “Some of his followers are being sought by the FBI. It's not stopping the leader of the Oath Keepers.” CNN. February 15, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/15/politics/capitol-riot-oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-soh/index.html.
Allies
The Oath Keepers has generally avoided developing close ties or alliances with other militant groups. For example, despite increased fundraising success due to the 2014 Bundy Ranch armed standoff, OK did not follow through on promises to financially support like-minded groups that also participated in the confrontation with federal agents. In response to the lack of support, local groups in Nevada barred OK from returning to the area.[1]
Three Percenters
The Three Percenters (III%ers) are an ideological ally of the Oath Keepers. An anti-government extremist group founded in 2008, the III%ers are one of the largest umbrella groups in the militia movement and coalesce around the factually unsupported notion that only three percent of the population fought against the British in the American Revolution.[2] Unlike OK, the III%ers are not organized into a hierarchical organization. Its loosely connected subgroups do not follow a single national leadership.[3] III%ers share aspects of OK’s worldview, such as favorable self-comparison with the American Revolution and fear of a tyrannical federal government.[4]
OK has been linked to the III%ers since Rhodes launched the group. Three Percenters founder Mike Vanderboegh attended OK’s founding ceremony in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 2009.[5] Rhodes has spoken publicly in support of the III%ers over the years and as early as September 2009, OK members were seen carrying a Three Percenters flag at an Oath Keepers demonstration in Washington, D.C.[6] Over the years, OK and the III%ers have participated alongside each other in several major operations. In April 2014, both groups came to the aid of rancher Cliven Bundy in his armed confrontation with the federal government.[7] The next year, a III%er group, Idaho Three Percent, joined OK in its standoff at the Sugar Pine Mine.[8] OK and the III%ers also banded together to organize armed patrols outside military recruiting centers around the United States after a shooting at such a center in Chattanooga, Tennessee in July 2015.[9]
In January 2017, OK coordinated with the III%ers and a group called Bikers for Trump in organizing an operation to provide security for President Trump’s inauguration in anticipation of threats from antifa and the Islamic State (IS).[10] OK and the III%ers’ collaborative relationship continued during the Trump presidency. For example, in June 2017, OK and the III%ers both participated in efforts to provide security for anti-Muslim rallies organized by ACT for America and participated in a right-wing free speech rally in the face of a heavy antifa presence in Portland.[11] Along with OK, the Three Percenters played a major role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.[12] According to federal prosecutors, a Virginia man affiliated with the Oath Keepers was in contact with the III%ers as he organized OK members to travel to Washington, D.C. to protest Joe Biden’s election victory.[13] It is unclear to what extent the Oath Keepers collaborated with the Three Percenters in planning the Capitol insurrection. Evidence reviewed by NBC News shows extensive communication between the Oath Keepers and Derek Kinnison, a self-identified member of the Three Percenters, in the days leading up to the Capitol riot.[14]
Affiliates
Ohio State Regular Militia
The Ohio State Regular Militia (OSRM) was an affiliate of the Oath Keepers. The FBI has identified this group as “a dues-paying” subset of OK. Its founder and leader, Jessica Watkins, was a member of the Oath Keepers.[15] Leaked audio showed Watkins participating in an October 2020 conference call of OK chapter leaders, which suggests that the OSRM may coordinate with the national Oath Keepers organization.[16]
According to Watkins, she founded the group in early 2020 “to protect businesses as the election season got underway.”[17] She claimed that the OSRM had six members at its height and has patrolled twelve protests in total.[18] Watkins is an Army veteran formerly deployed to Afghanistan and has previously worked as a firefighter and EMT.[19] Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has credited Watkins with playing a major role in OK’s demonstrations against protestors for police reform in Louisville in the summer of 2020.[20]
Watkins allegedly led three members of her militia in traveling from Ohio to Washington, D.C. in order to join the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.[21] Footage of the storming of the Capitol shows Watkins making her way through the crowd in a line with other Oath Keepers.[22] She was later arrested and charged with conspiracy, among other crimes.[23] In a bid to be released from jail pending trial, Watkins announced in late February 2021 that she was disbanding OSRM.[24] On November 29, 2022, Watkins was convicted on several felony charges, including obstruction of Congress, civil disorder, and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging their duties.[25] Months later, on May 26, 2023, Watkins was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.[26]
Splinter Groups
Liberty Watch of Josephine County
The Liberty Watch of Josephine County is an Oath Keepers splinter group that previously operated as the OK chapter for Josephine County, Oregon. The group has also gone by the name Citizen Patriots of Josephine County.[27] Joseph Rice, a former National Guardsman and Department of Defense contractor, founded the Josephine County Oath Keepers in 2012.[28] The group quickly became a fixture of the community by participating in public service, sponsoring a float in a local parade, and recruiting local elected officials for membership.[29] In April 2015, the chapter captured national attention when it led militants and anti-government activists from across the United States in an armed patrol of Oregon’s Sugar Pine Mine in defiance of Bureau of Land Management regulations.[30] In August 2016, Rice’s chapter split from the national Oath Keepers and reorganized as the Citizen Patriots of Josephine County.[31] By 2017, the group appeared to go by the name Liberty Watch of Josephine County.[32] Rice indicated that Rhodes’s leadership was the primary reason for leaving the national OK organization. In an interview with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Rice said that he had lost trust in the national organization’s vision for the future of OK and argued that Rhodes was more interested in self-promotion than the good of the organization.[33]
North Carolina Oath Keepers
In early February 2021, the North Carolina chapter of the Oath Keepers split from the national organization. Doug Smith, the leader of the chapter, announced that the North Carolina Oath Keepers had voted unanimously to break away; he cited OK’s involvement in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as the catalyst for the decision.[34] Though the North Carolina Oath Keepers had attended President Trump’s rally on January 6, Smith said that the chapter did not participate in the Capitol riot.[35] Calling the insurrection “an ugly stain on our nation’s history,” Smith said that his group would return to its roots of supporting local law enforcement.[36] According to Smith, the North Carolina Oath Keepers had begun distancing itself from national leadership as early as November 2020 due to dissatisfaction with OK’s response to the results of the 2020 presidential election.[37]
Yavapai County Preparedness Team
After the January 6 attack, Jim Arroyo, the Vice President of the Arizona OK chapter, announced that his chapter would split from the central OK organization.[38] In correspondence with Vice News, Arroyo reported that his OK chapter had been operating largely autonomously since 2018 after Rhodes broke ties with the chapter when Arroyo refused to join OK operations at the U.S.-Mexico border.[39] Arroyo renamed the Arizona OK chapter as the Yavapai County Preparedness Team (YCPT) in 2018 and registered it as a nonprofit organization. In an article published by local news outlet The Daily Courier and posted on the YCPT’s website, Arroyo asserted that the YCPT was not connected to the January 6 riot and claimed that he advised members to “stay away from it.” Arroyo estimated that 100-400 people attended the group’s public meetings, and more than 1,000 individuals were on the YCPT email list.[40]
While Arroyo claims to have officially split from OK, his group still uses OK branding. As of October 2023, the group’s website uses the OK logo and flag.[41] At an August 2022 meeting posed on YouTube, Arroyo reportedly told members in attendance wearing OK gear: “Your shirts and hats are what tell the world you’re not ashamed to be an Oath Keeper, or afraid of the government just because of that crap that happened on January the 6th, which was completely staged. It was a setup.” [42] YCPT, along with its “sister organization” the Lions of Liberty, organized efforts to monitor ballot drop boxes for fraudulent activities during the 2022 midterm election. Photos of a September 2022 meeting on the topic show the YCPT banner hanging alongside an Oath Keepers banner for “Yavapai County, Arizona Chapter.”[43] A lawsuit was filed in October 2022 by the League of Women Voters of Arizona that alleged the YCPT and the Lions of Liberty’s efforts to surveil ballot drop boxes amounted to voter intimidation.[44] YCPT and Lions of Liberty ultimately agreed to cease their monitoring operations and were dismissed from the case.[45]
Unknown
Proud Boys
OK’s relationship with the Proud Boys (PB), an all-male Western chauvinist organization, is ambiguous. At times, the two groups have taken the same side in street demonstrations, but Rhodes has shied away from publicly associating with the Proud Boys. For example, in April 2017, OK, PB, and the Three Percenters (III%ers) all provided security for protests held by ACT for America, the largest U.S. anti-Muslim organization, in twenty-eight cities across the country.[46]In August of that year, Rhodes announced publicly that OK would not participate in events alongside “known white nationalists,” citing Kyle Chapman, leader of the PB affiliate Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, as an example.[47]
More recently, the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys both participated in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In a March 2021 court filing, federal prosecutors alleged that members of the two organizations were in contact in the weeks before January 6 and appear to have coordinated to some degree.[48] In February 2022, it was reported that the FBI was investigating a meeting between Stewart Rhodes, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and OK general counsel Kellye SoRelle, in a Washington, D.C. parking garage on January 5, 2021.[49] In Facebook messages, Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of Oath Keepers, called the Proud Boys a “force multiplier” and said that he had “organized an alliance” with the Proud Boys and the Florida III%ers chapter.[50] A documentary filmmaker recorded portions of the meeting. In one clip, an unidentified attendee reportedly can be heard saying: “It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. We just have to do it strong, fast, together.”[51]
Both Rhodes and Tarrio deny close ties between the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.[52] In a deposition conducted by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Tarrio described a strained relationship with the Oath Keepers after Rhodes had promised to provide transportation to attendees of Tarrio’s rally in Portland in 2019 but backed out at the last minute. Tarrio stated in his testimony: “after that, I called that whole Oath Keepers group the ‘Oath Breakers.’” Tarrio claimed that the January 5 parking garage meeting was not a preplanned meetup with Rhodes: “I didn't go to meet Rhodes. He just happened to be there.”[53]
Rhodes, Tarrio, and several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy for their efforts to organize and execute the Capitol riot.[54]
[1] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Salvador Hernandez. “Oath Keepers Founder Betrayed Mission, Former Members Say.” Buzzfeed News. March 4, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-early-history-conflicts.
[2] Perliger, Arie. American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism. Columbia University Press, New York: 2020.
[3] Hafner, Josh. “Three Percenters: What is the gun-toting group? And what do its supporters want?” USA Today. March 1, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/03/01/three-percenters-what-gun-toting-group-and-what-do-its-supporters-want/385463002/. ; Desrochers, Daniel. “Who are the Three Percenters, the armed group Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called out?” Lexington Herald-Leader. May 28, 2020. https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article243023096.html. ; “Three Percenters.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/three-percenters
[4] “Three Percenters.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/three-percenters.
[5] Giglio, Mike. “A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.” The Atlantic. November 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/.
[6] “Oath Keepers and Three %ers Part of Growing Anti-Government Movement.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/oath-keepers-and-three-ers-part-of-growing-anti-government-movement%.
[7] Ketcham, Christopher. “Capitol attackers have long threatened violence in rural American west.” The Guardian. January 9, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/09/us-capitol-attackers-violence-rural-west. ; Childress, Sarah. “The Battle Over Bunkerville: The Bundys, the Federal Government and the New Militia Movement.” PBS Frontline. May 16, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-battle-over-bunkerville/.
[8] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[9] Jackson, Sam. Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020: 51.
[10] “Oath Keepers On Guard at Inauguration of President Donald Trump.” Southern Poverty Law Center. January 20, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/01/20/oath-keepers-guard-inauguration-president-donald-trump.
[11] Sottile, Leah. “Right-wing free speech rally draws massive counterprotests in Portland.” The Washington Post. June 4, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/right-wing-free-speech-rally-draws-massive-counter-protests-in-portland/2017/06/04/12971892-496f-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html.
[12] Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer, Denise Lu, Eleanor Lutz, and Alex Leeds Matthews. “A Small Group of Militants’ Outsize Role in the Capitol Attack.” The New York Times. February 21, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/21/us/capitol-riot-attack-militants.html.
[13] Weiner, Rachel and Spencer S. Hsu. “Former FBI official, a Navy veteran, is ‘key figure’ in Jan. 6 riot, prosecutors allege.” The Washington Post. February 11, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com
/local/legal-issues/thomas-caldwell-capitol-riot-detention/2021/02/11/a94bb3f2-6c92-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html.
[14] Reilly, Ryan J. “New evidence reveals coordination between Oath Keepers, Three Percenters on Jan. 6.” NBC News. May 28, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/new-evidence-reveals-coordination-oath-keepers-three-percenters-jan-6-rcna30355.
[15] Sparling, Hannah K. and Kevin Grasha. “Ohio militias: Who are the Oath Keepers, Ohio State Regular Militia?” The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 22, 2021. https://www.cincinnati.com
/story/news/2021/01/21/ohio-militias-who-oath-keepers-ohio-state-regular-militia/4231869001/.
[16] Owen, Tess. “Oath Keepers Talked About Protecting the Capitol—Before They Stormed It.” VICE News. February 3, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/epd8x4/oath-keepers-talked-about-protecting-the-capitolbefore-they-stormed-it.
[17] Lybrand, Holmes and Hannah Rabinowitz. “In surprise testimony, Oath Keeper apologizes for going into the Capitol on January 6.” CNN. November 16, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/politics/jessica-watkins-oath-keepers-testifies/index.html.
[18] Lybrand, Holmes and Hannah Rabinowitz. “In surprise testimony, Oath Keeper apologizes for going into the Capitol on January 6.” CNN. November 16, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/politics/jessica-watkins-oath-keepers-testifies/index.html. ; Sparling, Hannah K. and Kevin Grasha. “Ohio militias: Who are the Oath Keepers, Ohio State Regular Militia?” The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 21, 2021. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/01/21/ohio-militias-who-oath-keepers-ohio-state-regular-militia/4231869001/.
[19] Garrison, Jessica and Ken Bensinger. “Meet The Woman Facing Some Of The Most Serious Capitol Riot Charges.” Buzzfeed News. January 27, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/conspiracy-charge-ohio-militia-capitol.
[20] Barrett, Devlin, Spencer S. Hsu, and Aaron C. Davis. “‘Be ready to fight’: FBI probe of U.S. Capitol riot finds evidence detailing coordination of an assault.” The Washington Post. January 30, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/fbi-capitol-riot-coordination-planning/2021/01/30/c5ef346e-6258-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html.
[21] Zuckerman, Jake. “Ohio bartender and her ‘militia’ drove to D.C. to join the Capitol breach.” Ohio Capital Journal. January 13, 2021. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/01/13/ohio-bartender-and-her-militia-drove-to-d-c-to-join-the-capitol-breach/.
[22] Zuckerman, Jake. “Ohio bartender and her ‘militia’ drove to D.C. to join the Capitol breach.” Ohio Capital Journal. January 13, 2021. https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/01/13/ohio-bartender-and-her-militia-drove-to-d-c-to-join-the-capitol-breach/.
[23] “United States of America v. Thomas Edward Caldwell, Donovan Ray Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs, and Connie Meggs.” United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indictment filed February 19, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-superseding-indictment/42c4d9c52e4e4980/full.pdf.
[24] Garrison, Jessica, Ken Bensinger, and Zoe Tillman. “Prosecutors Suggested That The Oath Keepers Had A Special Force Ready With Weapons During The Capitol Insurrection.” Buzzfeed News. February 26, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/oath-keepers-armed-reinforcements-capitol-riot.
[25] “Two Leaders of Oath Keepers Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy and Other Charges Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” United States Department of Justice. November 29, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-leaders-oath-keepers-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-other-charges-related-us.
[26] Hannah Rabinowitz, “Jessica Watkins: Oath Keepers member and Army veteran sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for January 6,” CNN, May 26, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/26/politics/oath-keepers-jessica-watkins-sentencing/index.html#:~:text=Jessica%20Watkins%3A%20Oath%20Keepers%20member,for%20January%206%20%7C%20CNN%20Politics.
[27] Sunshine, Spencer. “The Oath Keepers in Oregon.” Political Research Associates. October 3, 2016. https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/10/03/the-oath-keepers-in-oregon.
[28] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[29] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[30] Wiles, Tay. “Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff.” High Country News. February 2, 2016. https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine.
[31] Sunshine, Spencer. “The Oath Keepers in Oregon.” Political Research Associates. October 3, 2016. https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/10/03/the-oath-keepers-in-oregon.
[32] Lenz, Ryan. “Leader of Josephine County Oath Keepers Breaks with Stewart Rhodes Over Leadership Style.” Southern Poverty Law Center. May 16, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/05/16
/leader-josephine-county-oath-keepers-breaks-stewart-rhodes-over-leadership-style.
[33] Lenz, Ryan. “Leader of Josephine County Oath Keepers Breaks with Stewart Rhodes Over Leadership Style.” Southern Poverty Law Center. May 16, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/05/16
/leader-josephine-county-oath-keepers-breaks-stewart-rhodes-over-leadership-style.
[34] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following-jan-6/.
[35] Weaver, Jefferson. “State organization breaks ties with Oath Keepers.” Columbus County News. January 22, 2021. https://columbuscountynews.com/2021/01/state-organization-breaks-ties-with-oath-keepers/.
[36] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following-jan-6/.
[37] Sherrill, Thomas. “Local Oath Keepers split from national following Jan. 6.” The News Reporter. February 9, 2021. https://nrcolumbus.com/local-oath-keepers-split-from-national-following-jan-6/.
[38] Stall, Hampton, and Aaron Wolfson. “Actor Profile: Oath Keepers.” ACLED Analysis, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. https://acleddata.com/acleddatanew/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Actor-Profile-Oath-Keepers_June2021.pdf
[39] Owen, Tess. “Armed Fringe Groups Are Gearing Up to ‘Protect’ Midterm Ballot Dropboxes.” Vice News, October 6, 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes
[40] Yavapai County Preparedness Team. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://ycpt.org
[41] Yavapai County Preparedness Team. “About YCPT.” Accessed October 1, 2023. https://ycpt.org/about-ycpt/
[42] Owen, Tess. “Armed Fringe Groups Are Gearing Up to ‘Protect’ Midterm Ballot Dropboxes.” Vice News, October 6, 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes
[43] Simonelli, Isaac Stone. “Experts warn of extremist push to expand sheriffs’ role in elections.” AZ Mirror, October 24, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/24/experts-warn-of-extremist-push-to-expand-sheriffs-role-in-elections/
[44] Macdonald-Evoy, Jerod. “Two lawsuits filed to stop intimidation at ballot drop boxes.” AZ Mirror, October 25, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/25/two-lawsuits-filed-to-stop-intimidation-at-ballot-drop-boxes/ ; U.S. Department of Justice. Statement of Interest in League of Women Voters of Arizona v. Lions of Liberty.” Filed October 31, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/d9/case-documents/attachments/2022/10/31/statement_of_interest-_leage_of_women_voters_v._lions_of_liberty.pdf
[45] Bensinger, Ken. “Justice Dept. Questions Drop Box Monitoring in Arizona.” The New York Times, November 9, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/justice-department-arizona-drop-boxes.html
[46] Morlin, Bill. “ACT’s Anti-Muslim Message Fertile Ground for Oath Keepers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. June 12, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/06/12/act’s-anti-muslim-message-fertile-ground-oath-keepers.
[47] Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald. “Presidio businesses rack big financial losses from ‘Free Speech’ rally.” San Francisco Examiner. August 29, 2017. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/presidio-businesses-rack-big-financial-losses-from-free-speech-rally/.
[48] United States District Court for the District of Columbia. United States of America v. Kelly Meggs. No. 1:21-cr-28 (APM). “Government’s Opposition to Defendan’ts Renewed Reqest for Pretrial Release.” Filed March 23, 2021. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/oath-keepers-proud-boys/605aa93a48fbae1e/full.pdf. ; Feuer, Alan. “Justice Dept. Links Oath Keepers and Proud Boys Ahead of Capitol Riot.” The New York Times. April 13, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/politics/oath-keepers-proud-boys-capitol-riot.html.
[49] Roston, Aram. “FBI Probes Pre-Capitol Riot Meeting of Far-Right Groups.” Reuters. February 8, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-proudboy-meeting-exclusive-idCAKBN2KD1BW.
[50] Feuer, Alan. “Justice Dept. Links Oath Keepers and Proud Boys Ahead of Capitol Riot.” The New York Times. April 13, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/politics/oath-keepers-proud-boys-capitol-riot.html.
[51] Feuer, Alan, and Zach Montague. “New Details Emerge of Meeting Between Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.” New York Times, January 19, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/us/proud-boys-oath-keepers-meeting.html
[52] Wendling, Mike. “Far-right groups had racism rift before Capitol riot.” BBC, December 22, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64071724
[53] U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee To Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Deposition of Henry Tarrio. February 4, 2022, Washington, DC. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000042157/pdf/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000042157.pdf
[54] U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. “Four Oath Keepers Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” January 23, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-oath-keepers-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-related-us-capitol-breach ; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. “Jury Convicts Four Leaders of the Proud Boys of Seditious Conspiracy Related to U.S. Capitol Breach.” May 4, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jury-convicts-four-leaders-proud-boys-seditious-conspiracy-related-us-capitol-breach
There are no identifiable external influences for this group.