Oath Keepers

Overview

The Oath Keepers is a far-right anti-government extremist militia group founded by Stewart Elmer Rhodes III in 2009. As part of the larger militia movement, the group gained national prominence after their involvement in the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff in southeastern Nevada. The Oath Keepers primarily recruit active-duty military personnel and veterans, active and retired law enforcement officers, and others with desirable paramilitary and survival skills. Analysis of leaked Oath Keepers membership data in 2022 identified 81 individuals holding or running for public office, 117 active duty military personnel, and 373 members of law enforcement among the list of nearly 38,000 alleged members.

Ideology

In April 2009, Rhodes founded the organization in Lexington, Massachusetts, the site of the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. While the group’s core message is primarily targeted at law enforcement and members of the military, urging them to keep their oath to defend the Constitution, the Oath Keepers exhibit a unique blend of ideologies under the broader umbrella of “far-right,” primarily anti-government. The Oath Keepers’ formation was primarily in response to a perceived conspiracy by the U.S. government to facilitate total economic collapse, thereby providing the pretext to imposing martial law and a system of totalitarian control. This belief is closely related to antisemitic conspiracies surrounding the “New World Order” of the 1990s, which spawned the modern anti-government militia movement, which heavily focuses on preserving Second Amendment rights to prevent the federal government from confiscating privately-owned firearms.

Notable Members

Stewart Elmer Rhodes III

Born in 1966 in Fresno, California, to a former Marine and a farmworker, Rhodes enlisted in the U.S. Army in the 1980s, ultimately receiving an honorable discharge after a parachuting accident during Airborne school left him with a permanent spinal injury. After his military service, Rhodes moved to Las Vegas, where he enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, graduating with a bachelor’s in political science in 1998. Following his graduation, Rhodes and his family moved to the Washington, D.C. region to work as a staffer for former Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul.

While enrolled at Yale Law School, Rhodes became increasingly worried about the potential erosion of civil liberties as a result of the increased powers granted to the federal government in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, which set the stage for his conspiratorial paranoia.

Between his graduating from law school in 2001 and the Oath Keepers’ founding in 2009, Rhodes clerked for the Arizona Supreme Court and worked as an attorney in multiple western states.

Notable Events and Activities

In 2014, the Rhodes encouraged members of the Oath Keepers to participate in an armed standoff with federal authorities from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of a larger campaign to assist Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy in regaining possession of his cattle, which the government seized as a penalty for the Bundy’s $1 million in unpaid grazing fees. Confrontations with the BLM continued in 2015 when the Oath Keepers provided armed security for Sugar Pine Mine in Oregon in response to what the owners saw as another government overreach.

Until the January 6 attack on the Capitol, members of the Oath Keepers shied away from physical violence, although the threat always loomed. According to federal court documents, Rhodes and other leadership conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election by disrupting its certification. As of January 2022, the federal government convicted six members of the Oath Keepers on charges of seditious conspiracy, resulting in lengthy prison sentences for Rhodes (18 years) and Kelly Meggs (12 years).

Symbology and Iconography

Oath Keepers Tab

The most recognizable symbol of the Oath Keepers is their black and yellow logo, modeled after the Ranger Tab, awarded to US service members upon completion of the US Army’s Ranger School at Fort Moore, GA. The logo is often seen on flags, patches, bumper stickers, and Oath Keepers-branded merchandise.

Militia Man

Similar to the Oath Keepers Tab, the militia man silhouette frequently seen on Oath Keepers items references the group’s romanticization of original militia members of America’s colonial roots. The militia man is depicted holding a rifle, reaffirming their willingness to use violence against what they perceive as a tyrannical government.