Oath Keepers

Not to be confused with Promise Keepers.
For the Game of Thrones episode, see Oathkeeper.
"Oathkeepers" redirects here. For the political party in Serbia, see Serbian Party Oathkeepers.

Oath Keepers
FounderStewart Rhodes
LeaderKellye SoRelle (Acting President)
FoundationMarch 2009; 15 years ago (2009-03)
Dates of operation2009–present
Active regionsUnited States[1]
IdeologyAmerican nationalism
Conservatism
Right-libertarianism
Trumpism
Political positionFar-right
Slogan"Not on our watch!"
Major actionsOccupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge,
2021 United States Capitol attack,
political violence, harassment, riots, occupations and armed attacks
StatusActive
Size5,000–38,000[2]
AlliesThree Percenters
Patriot Prayer
Proud Boys
OpponentsDemocratic Party
Black Lives Matter
Left-wing and progressive organizations
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Oath Keepers is an American far-right[1] anti-government militia[1][3] whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime.[4] Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.[5][6]

The group encourages its members to disobey orders which they believe would violate the U.S. Constitution. Research on their membership determined that two-thirds of the Oath Keepers are former military or law enforcement, and one tenth are active duty military or law enforcement. Most research determined the Oath Keeper membership to be approximately 5,000 members, while leaked data showed Oath Keepers' rosters claiming membership of 38,000.[7][8][9][10]

Several organizations that monitor U.S. domestic terrorism and hate groups describe the Oath Keepers as a far-right extremist or radical group.[1][11] In 2015, Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described the group as "heavily armed extremists with a conspiratorial and anti-government mindset looking for potential showdowns with the government".[12][13] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the group is anti-government and extremist.[14][15][16][17] Former SPLC senior fellow Mark Potok describes the group as "an anti-government group who believe in a wild set of conspiracy theories".[18] The FBI describes the Oath Keepers as a "paramilitary organization" and a "large but loosely organized collection of militia who believe that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights."[19] Some researchers have suggested the Oath Keepers' organizing principle is as a "profit-maximizing firm", rather than the hierarchical and close-knit "club" structure that many other groups in these categories show.[20]

Oath Keepers were present wearing military fatigues during the 2014 and 2015 unrest in Ferguson, Missouri,[21][22][23] when members armed with semi-automatic rifles roamed streets and rooftops.[24][25]

By September 2021, twenty members had been indicted for federal crimes related to the January 2021 Capitol attack, with four pleading guilty.[26][27]

The organization was subpoenaed by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in November 2021. Eleven members of the organization, including its founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, were indicted for seditious conspiracy in January 2022.[28] By late April 2022, two of those 11 indicted Oath Keepers pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy,[29] and another member who had not been named in the initial indictment pleaded guilty to the same charges on May 4, 2022.[30] A jury found Rhodes and one co-defendant guilty of seditious conspiracy on November 29, 2022.[31] Four more Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy by a separate jury two months later, bringing the total convicted of this rare charge to nine.[32]

  1. ^ a b c d Kriner, Matthew; Lewis, Jon (December 22, 2021). Cruickshank, Paul; Hummel, Kristina (eds.). "The Oath Keepers and Their Role in the January 6 Insurrection" (PDF). CTC Sentinel. 14 (10). West Point, New York: Combating Terrorism Center: 1–18. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Oath Keepers membership rolls feature police, military and elected officials". TheGuardian.com. September 7, 2022. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  3. ^ Sources:
  4. ^ Boboltz, Sara (May 25, 2023). "Oath Keepers Founder Sentenced For Seditious Conspiracy Over Jan. 6 Capitol Riot". HuffPost. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  5. ^ Cheney, Kyle (November 29, 2022). "Jury convicts Oath Keeper leaders of seditious conspiracy". Politico. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Barnes, Daniel; Brown-Kaiser, Liz; Gregorian, Dareh; Jester, Julia (January 23, 2023). "Four Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy in Jan 6 attack". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Parascandola, Rocco; Rayman, Graham; McShane, Larry (October 1, 2021). "Two NYPD officers probed for suspected affiliation with far-right militia Oath Keepers, group linked to storming of Capitol". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Mansfield, Erin; Hauck, Grace; Carless, Will (October 2, 2021). "Hack exposes law enforcement officers who signed up to join anti-government Oath Keepers". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  9. ^ Lucas, Ryan (April 10, 2021). "Who Are The Oath Keepers? Militia Group, Founder Scrutinized In Capitol Riot Probe". NPR. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  10. ^ McQueen, Eric (June 17, 2021). "Examining Extremism: The Oath Keepers". Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Jones, Seth G.; Doxsee, Catrina; Suber, James; Hwang, Grace; Harrington, Nicholas (October 22, 2020). "The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States". Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  12. ^ "Press Release: ADL Report Exposes Tactics of Anti-Government "Oath Keepers"". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  13. ^ "The Oath Keepers Anti-Government Extremists Recruiting Military and Police". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on January 17, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  14. ^ Lenz, Ryan (July 25, 2013). "Oath Keepers Rally Reveals Radical Politics of Group". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  15. ^ Lenz, Ryan. "Are the Oath Keepers Fighting 'Martial Law'?". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  16. ^ Lenz, Ryan (May 16, 2013). "Battle Lines". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  17. ^ Keller, Larry. "Evidence Grows of Far-Right Militia Resurgence". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "Oath Keepers: What anti-hate groups are saying about them". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  19. ^ Sparling, Hannah K.; Kevin Grasha (January 22, 2021). "Ohio militias: Who are the Oath Keepers, Ohio State Regular Militia?". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  20. ^ Klinenberg, Danny (October 5, 2022), Selling Violent Extremism, doi:10.2139/ssrn.4239242, S2CID 253089773, SSRN 4239242
  21. ^ McCoy, Terrence (January 1, 2014). "The Oath Keepers: The Little-known Militia Now Roaming the Streets of Ferguson". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  22. ^ "Return of armed militia group Oath Keepers to Ferguson raises concern". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. August 11, 2015. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015. [Ferguson 2015] wearing camouflage bulletproof vests and openly carrying rifles and pistols on West Florissant Avenue
  23. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (August 11, 2015). "Oath Keepers: Who are white militia at Ferguson protests and why are they allowed to carry guns?". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  24. ^ Sakuma, Amanda; Rayford, Bradley J (August 11, 2015). "'Oath Keepers' armed with guns roam streets of Ferguson". MSNBC. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015. With their hands resting casually on the assault rifles strapped across their chests, the men formed a diamond around their subjects, surveying the area in search of a threat.
  25. ^ Duara, Nigel (August 11, 2015). "'Oath Keepers' with rifles roam among Ferguson protesters, raising concerns". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015. As protests in Ferguson continued on a sweat-soaked Missouri night, at least three men openly carrying assault rifles approached the south end of West Florissant Avenue – and began to attract a crowd themselves.
  26. ^ Fischer, Jordan; Flack, Eric; Wilson, Stephanie (September 8, 2021). "Oath Keepers say Capitol riot charges 'unconstitutionally vague,' want indictment tossed". WUSA9. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Richer, Alanna Durkin (September 15, 2021). "Oath Keeper pleads guilty in Jan. 6 riot, will cooperate". AP News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  28. ^ Rabinowitz, Hannah; Polantz, Katelyn; Sneed, Tierney; Lybrand, Holmes (January 13, 2022). "Oath Keepers leader and 10 others charged with 'seditious conspiracy'". CNN. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  29. ^ Curley, Molly (April 29, 2022). "Guyton man pleads guilty to Jan. 6 charges". WSAV. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  30. ^ Reilly, Ryan J. (May 4, 2022). "Third Oath Keepers defendant pleads guilty to sedition in Capitol riot case". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  31. ^ Jackman, Tom; Hsu, Spencer S.; Weiner, Rachel (November 29, 2022). "Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of seditious conspiracy". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  32. ^ Montague, Zach (January 23, 2023). "Four More Oath Keepers Members Convicted of Sedition in Second Trial". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.