6.3 The Oath Keepers: “He Called Us All to the Capitol and Wants Us to Make it Wild!!!”

6.3 The Oath Keepers: “He Called Us All to the Capitol and Wants Us to Make it Wild!!!”

¶The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes, is a far-right anti-government organization. The group targets former and current military and law enforcement for recruitment. Their name refers to the oath taken by public servants to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. The Oath Keepers’ claimed fealty to the U.S. Constitution is belied by their obsession with conspiracy theories about alleged evil-intentioned elites in the Government.¹⁵⁷¹⁵⁷ Statement of Sam Jackson, Ph.D., (Mar. 30, 2022), at p. 2. Rhodes has often spouted these conspiracy theories on InfoWars.¹⁵⁸¹⁵⁸ Zachary Cohen, “Oath Keepers Leader Spewed Anti-government Hate for More than a Decade. Alex Jones Gave Him the Audience,” CNN, (Jan. 14, 2022), available at https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/14/politics/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-alex-jones-invs/index.html.

¶Over the summer of 2020, the Oath Keepers organized armed groups, ostensibly to serve as volunteer, self-appointed security at protests around the country. The Oath Keepers used the protests to draw in new recruits.¹⁵⁹¹⁵⁹ The Select Committee found that the idea that violence loomed from the left was a powerful draw for people to join the Oath Keepers. Richard Dockery, a former Oath Keepers member from Florida, decried “all the riots and stuff I was seeing on the news all over the country” and expressed concern about Antifa and Black Lives Matter activity in his area of Florida, a prospect that he called “nerve-wracking.” Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Richard Dockery, (Feb. 2, 2022), pp. 10, 31. Because of this, he said that the Oath Keepers “seemed like a really good organization to support” in order to keep communities safe. Id., at p. 9. Similarly, Jeff Morelock told the Select Committee that joining the Oath Keepers “would give me a chance to do something to help instead of just sitting on the couch,” referring to watching protests on television. Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Jeffrey Lawrence Morelock, (Jan. 26, 2022), pp. 87-88. Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesman for the Oath Keepers and confidant to Rhodes who has since publicly denounced the group, described how the Oath Keepers tried to deliberately leverage this dynamic to increase their clout. Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Jason Van Tatenhove, (Mar. 9, 2022), pp. 54-55.Show full note They also built muscle memory by coordinating for these events. For example, the Oath Keepers hired Michael Greene, who later coordinated Oath Keepers’ activities on January 5th and 6th, to lead security operations in multiple cities around the country.¹⁶⁰¹⁶⁰ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Elmer Stewart Rhodes, (Feb. 2, 2022), pp. 103-104. In the early part of 2020, protests against COVID-related lockdowns served as additional growth and networking opportunities. Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer for the Oath Keepers, met the Oath Keepers at a lockdown protest in Austin, Texas in early 2020. SoRelle saw these COVID events as a “coalescing moment” for different far-right groups.¹⁶¹¹⁶¹ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Kellye SoRelle, (Apr. 13, 2022), pp. 9-10.

¶The “Stop the Steal” movement created another opportunity for the Oath Keepers to grow their influence. Rhodes repeatedly amplified the stolen election conspiracy theory. On November 10, 2020, he posted a “Call to Action!” on the Oath Keepers website, alleging the election was “stolen” and exhorting his followers to “refuse to EVER recognize this as a legitimate election, and refuse to recognize Biden as a legitimate winner.”¹⁶²¹⁶² Stewart Rhodes, “Call to Action! March on DC, Stop the Steal, Defend the President, & Defeat the Deep State,” Oath Keepers, (Nov. 10, 2020), available at https://oathkeepers.org/2020/11/call-to-action-march-on-dc-stop-the-steal-defend-the-president-defeat-the-deep-state/. Under a section entitled “What We the People Must Do,” Rhodes quoted a “patriot from Serbia, who also loves America.” The Serbian author described how his fellow countrymen fomented a political revolution. Parts of the statement presaged the attack on the U.S. Capitol:

. . . Millions gathered in our capital [sic]. There were no barricades strong enough to stop them, nor the police determined enough to stop them. Police and Military aligned with the people after few hours of fist-fight [sic]. We stormed the Parliament. And burned down fake state Television! WE WON!¹⁶³¹⁶³ Stewart Rhodes, “Call to Action! March on DC, Stop the Steal, Defend the President, & Defeat the Deep State,” Oath Keepers, (Nov. 10, 2020), available at https://oathkeepers.org/2020/11/call-to-action-march-on-dc-stop-the-steal-defend-the-president-defeat-the-deep-state/.

¶The Oath Keepers were obsessed with the Insurrection Act — seeing it as a way for President Trump to cling to power. Rhodes believed that the President could empower militias like the Oath Keepers to enforce law and order after other Americans refused to accept President Trump’s rule.¹⁶⁴¹⁶⁴ Stewart Rhodes and Kellye SoRelle, “Open Letter to President Trump: You Must Use the Insurrection Act to ‘Stop the Steal’ and Defeat the Coup,” Oath Keepers, (Dec. 14, 2020), available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133022/https:/oathkeepers.org/2020/12/open-letter-to-president-trump-you-must-use-insurrection-act-to-stop-the-steal-and-defeat-the-coup/. Indeed, President Trump had been intensely interested in the Insurrection Act as a potential tool to quell the protests in summer 2020.¹⁶⁵¹⁶⁵ Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, “Trump Aides Prepared Insurrection Act Order During Debate Over Protests,” New York Times, (June 25, 2021), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/politics/trump-insurrection-act-protests.html. Rhodes wished the Act had been invoked then, but he did not give up on the fantasy.¹⁶⁶¹⁶⁶ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Elmer Stewart Rhodes, (Feb. 2, 2022), p. 131. As mentioned above, Rhodes called for President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act during his speech in Washington on December 12, 2020.¹⁶⁷¹⁶⁷ “Pro-Trump Rallies in DC Attract Extremists & Erupt into Violence,” Anti-Defamation League, (Dec. 13, 2020), available at https://www.adl.org/blog/pro-trump-rallies-in-dc-attract-extremists-erupt-into-violence.

¶That day, Rhodes also coordinated with Jericho March organizers to provide security.¹⁶⁸¹⁶⁸ In texts between Rhodes and Rob Weaver, one of the organizers of the Jericho March, Weaver instructed his associate to work with Rhodes “on extra security.” Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Robert Weaver Production), Weaver J6 Prod. (S. Rhodes)0001 (December 11, 2020, text from Rob Weaver at 1:39 p.m.). He coordinated with a paramilitary group known as 1st Amendment Praetorian (1AP), to guard VIPs, including retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and Patrick Byrne.¹⁶⁹¹⁶⁹ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (Thomas Speciale Production), CTRL0000050180, pp. 1-6, 26-28 (Signal Chat Titled Dec 12 DC Security/Leadership); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Robert Weaver Production), Weaver J6 Production) Prod. (S. Rhodes)0039 (Signal Chat Titled Dec 12 DC Security/Leadership).; Superseding Indictment at 12, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. June 22, 2022), ECF No. 167 (noting that on December 11, 2020, Rhodes “sent a message to an invitation-only Signal group chat titled, ‘Dec 12 DC Security/Leadership,’ which included James, MINUTA, and others. RHODES stated that if President-Elect Biden were to assume the presidency, ‘It will be a bloody and desperate fight. We are going to have a fight. That can’t be avoided.’ ”).Show full note Rhodes indicated that the Oath Keepers would be “working closely” with them for the event.¹⁷⁰¹⁷⁰ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Robert Weaver Production), Weaver J6 Prod. (S. Rhodes) 0045 (December 10, 2020, Stewart Rhodes chat with Dec. 12 DC Security/Leadership at 10:17p.m.).

¶The Oath Keepers continued to call for President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act throughout December 2020, arguing that the President needed to do so to “Stop the Steal.”¹⁷¹¹⁷¹ Stewart Rhodes and Kellye SoRelle, “Open Letter to President Trump: You Must Use the Insurrection Act to ‘Stop the Steal’ and Defeat the Coup,” Oath Keepers, (Dec. 14, 2020), available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133022/https:/oathkeepers.org/2020/12/open-letter-to-president-trump-you-must-use-insurrection-act-to-stop-the-steal-and-defeat-the-coup/. This fantasy reflected a warped sense of reality. Rhodes testified that President Trump could have mobilized “unorganized militia,” including the Oath Keepers, to suppress an insurrection if he attempted to stay in power after losing the election.¹⁷²¹⁷² Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Elmer Stewart Rhodes, (Feb. 2, 2022), pp. 132, 134. But the Oath Keepers themselves were the ones contemplating insurrection. On December 10, 2020, Rhodes messaged others: “Either Trump gets off his ass and uses the Insurrection Act to defeat the Chicom puppet coup or we will have to rise up in insurrection (rebellion) against the ChiCom puppet Biden. Take your pick.”¹⁷³¹⁷³ Trial Exhibit 6748, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Oct. 20, 2022); Kyle Cheney, “Prosecutors Detail Oath Keepers’ Mounting Frustration with Trump as Jan. 6 Approached,” Politico, (Oct. 20, 2022), available at https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/20/oath-keepers-trump-jan-6-00062779. Rhodes was blunt in other messages to the Oath Keepers, writing: “We need to push Tump [sic] to do his duty. If he doesn’t, we will do ours. Declare Independence. Defy[,] Resist[,] Defend[,] Conquer or Die. This needs to be our attitude.”¹⁷⁴¹⁷⁴ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Alondra Propes Production), CTRL0000029585, p.1 (Stewart Rhodes writing in ‘OKFL Hangout’ chat).