Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The Oath Keepers promised to defend liberty — and ended up trying to overthrow American democracy

The Oath Keepers promised to defend liberty — and ended up trying to overthrow American democracy

The Oath Keepers branded themselves as defenders of liberty. In the end, they tried to keep the loser of an election in power.
It's always a question when someone or something — a friend, lover, or anti-government paramilitary organization — turns out to be rather quite bad: Were they always this bad, and we just ignored the signs, or did they actually change along the way, from good and decent (or not so obviously terrible) to out-and-out toxic?

The Oath Keepers, to be sure, are not to be confused with a charming but a little bit problematic ex. Founded in 2009, it is a far-right militia that recruited among the ranks of law enforcement.

A dozen years ago, before Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with another member of the Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs for helping organize an invasion of the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection (three other members of the group were found guilty of related felonies, but found not guilty on the count of seditious conspiracy), it was at least possible, if not advisable, to believe this was merely a group of middle-aged, weekend cosplayers. President Barack Obama had just been sworn in as the first Black president and liberalism appeared ascendant, with the reaction to that predictable, often racist, but ultimately memes on Facebook and the Tea Party movement.

Rhodes also tailored his message, sometimes obscuring his far-right pedigree. In a 2011 interview with Reason, a libertarian magazine, he talked about his opposition to police militarization, "unconstitutional wars," and even white supremacy ("I'm part Apache Indian").

Radley Balko, the journalist who conducted that interview — and one of the country's best criminal justice reporters — has admitted to being a bit fooled, recently penning a "big honking mea culpa" in which he expressed regret for being "fairly credulous," a product, in part, of believing liberals were being hysterical about the threat posed by the far right.

"It's at least possible that Rhodes wasn't completely bullshitting me, and only became radicalized at some point after our interview," Balko wrote, noting his claimed opposition to police brutality against people of color.

But there were also plenty of red flags.

A look at the list of 10 orders the Oath Keepers insisted its members — cops and soldiers — would not carry out reveals as much. It includes the unsurprising, such as a declared refusal to enforce any attempt to "disarm" the populace — a right-wing bugaboo whenever a Democrat occupies the White House. To be sure, there are also a few items that, while standard-issue for any anti-government type, were at odds with post-9/11 conservatism, such as opposition to warrantless searches or the designation of any US citizen as an "enemy combatant" subject to military justice.

Then, again, there are the wacky red flags: "We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps," the group asserted right out the gate; "We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law," it continued (though it allied with those calling for just that after the 2020 election); and, "We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext."

These principles, as it were, could apply to any administration and that is indeed what the group insisted. Thanks to the magic of the Internet Archive, however, we can see just how they were received on the Oath Keepers' website at the time.

Roll the comments:

"I sincerely believe that Obama is a Marxist Dictator-in-Waiting. God help us all," one user wrote. "I believe that you (Mr. Barak Hussein Obama [sic]) are not an American," another user commented. "You were raised in other cultures, and do not have the same traditions, history, and values we do." Several also insisted that the federal government, under its new president, was intending to infect the public with swine flu to manufacture a pandemic, the end goal, one insisted, being to "implement a forced mass vaccination program which would be the means of administering a toxic biological agent."

The irony was not lost on all commenters. One user wondered where the spirited defense of civil liberties — putting aside birth certificates and vaccines — was under George W. Bush. "I am most upset that Obama has not pushed back as hard as I would like," the person wrote, "but this web page would never have been put up 8 years ago and many who are now wildly in favor of it would be the ones enforcing exactly the points you speak against."

We now have enough evidence to assess that claim: yeah, pretty much. Those who feared federal emergency management would lock up citizens, under a Democrat, pivoted to getting mad about "antifa" and Black Lives Matter during the Trump years; some even boasted of their supposed collaboration with the federal government, fearing socialists and anarchists much more than the state they feared so much under Obama. Now, under another Democrat, the federal government and its three-letter agencies are once again the enemy du jour.

Rachel Carroll Rivas, a long-time watcher of the far right and a researcher at the Southern Poverty Law Center, believes the Oath Keepers started out where they ended up, the riot at the US Capitol the apex of a conspiratorial movement steeped in racialized fears. She's hopeful the lesson has been learned.

"I think the public and the media have gotten better at understanding the pitch of the anti-government militia movement," she said in an interview. "The pitch is wrapped in a flag — it's false patriotism — and there's a lot of libertarian, constitutionalist talking points. But there is, in my take, nothing different about the underlying threat that Oath Keepers posed from day one."

Of the riot on January 6, Carrol Rivas added: "I think Stewart was saying, and the members were saying, that this was what they were going to do in 2009. And then they did it."
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
×