Alan Maimon, Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 18, 2009
Launched in March by Las Vegan Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers bills itself as a nonpartisan group of current and retired law enforcement and military personnel who vow to fulfill their oaths to the Constitution.
More specifically, the group’s members, which number in the thousands, pledge to disobey orders they deem unlawful, including directives to disarm the American people and to blockade American cities. By refusing the latter order, the Oath Keepers hope to prevent cities from becoming “giant concentration camps,” a scenario the 44-year-old Rhodes says he can envision happening in the coming years.
It’s a Cold War-era nightmare vision with a major twist: The occupying forces in this imagined future are American, not Soviet.
“The whole point of Oath Keepers is to stop a dictatorship from ever happening here,” Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and Yale-trained lawyer, said in an interview with the Review-Journal. “My focus is on the guys with the guns, because they can’t do it without them.
“We say if the American people decide it’s time for a revolution, we’ll fight with you.”
That type of rhetoric has caught the attention of groups that track extremist activity in the United States.
In a July report titled “Return of the Militias,” the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center singled out Oath Keepers as “a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival.”
The Patriot movement, so named because its adherents believe the federal government has stepped on the constitutional ideals of the American Revolution, gained traction in the 1990s and has been closely linked to anti-government militia and white supremacist movements.
The movement is blamed for spawning Timothy McVeigh, who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people.
“I’m not accusing Stewart Rhodes or any member of his group of being Timothy McVeigh or a future Timothy McVeigh,” law center spokesman Mark Potok said. “But these kinds of conspiracy theories are what drive a small number of people to criminal violence. . . . What’s troubling about Oath Keepers is the idea that men and women armed and ordered to protect the public in this country are clearly being drawn into a world of false conspiracy theory.”
{snip}
Nonetheless, Potok’s group now monitors Oath Keepers on its Web site blog “Hatewatch.”
Oath Keepers is not preaching violence or government overthrow, Rhodes said. On the contrary, it is asking police and the military to lay down their arms in response to unlawful orders.
{snip}
One member, in a videotaped speech at an event in Washington, D.C., calls Obama “the domestic enemy the Constitution is talking about.”
According to the law center, militia groups are re-emerging in this country partly as a result of racial animosity toward Obama.
It’s the “cross-pollinating” of extremist groups—some racist, some not—that is of concern, Potok said. As evidence that the danger is real, he points to several recent murders committed by men with anti-government or racist views.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reached a similar conclusion in a report earlier this year about the rise of right-wing extremism. {snip}
{snip}
The motto of Oath Keepers: “Not on our watch!”
The message Rhodes hears from the government: We’re watching you.
{snip}
Rhodes, a former firearms instructor, said he easily could have started Oath Keepers during the Bush administration, but his focus during those years was first on getting his law degree and then volunteering on the 2008 presidential campaign of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian Republican in whose office Rhodes worked during the 1990s.
{snip}
“We’re not a militia,” [Rhodes] said. “And we’re not part and parcel of the white supremacist movement. I loathe white supremacists.”
Oath Keepers doesn’t offer paramilitary training; nor does it have a military command structure. {snip}
{snip}
Another prominent Oath Keeper is former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, who has long been an outspoken government critic.
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Mack a “longtime militia hero” who helped weaken gun control laws.
{snip}
On the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Green, the Massachusetts battle that started the American Revolution in 1775, a group of Oath Keepers went to the battle site and reaffirmed their pledge to the Constitution.
The gathering was mentioned in the Southern Poverty Law Center report because April 19 is also the anniversary of the deadly end to the federal siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993; and of the retaliatory bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
{snip}
Rhodes said he hopes Oath Keepers members think about the lawfulness of day-to-day orders they receive.
For example, if a police officer feels he is being asked to do an illegal search of a home or vehicle, he should stand down.
Rhodes eventually wants to create a legal defense fund for Oath Keepers who are disciplined by their employers for defying orders they deem unlawful or immoral.
{snip}
Original article
Email
Alan Maimon
at amaimon @reviewjournal.com .
(Posted on October 19, 2009)
Comments
I’m not sure what laws are legal. Obviously, the laws about our border are not to be followed. The thievery that our politicians do is not addressed in a meaningful way. Why do some get to pick and choose what laws to follow and other do not?
What is racist about defending the Constitution? What is racist about not supporting a dictator style leader if they cross the line and begin to act like one? I think the SPLC knows what is going on for they address the issue in the back door! I just joined Oath Keepers and I read no where, that it was against Blacks or anyone else besides commies and dictators! There is no theory about what the Obama administration is doing. Anyone with any brains can see for them selves what is taking place. The Oath Keepers are forming to protect the country through the Obama administration and afterwards. Only commie propaganda artists, such as the SPLC operating under the color of law acts as if it is a “bad” organization.
I’m a civilian, proud, card-carrying member of Oathkeepers. Of course the leftists are afraid of us and therefore hate us; we are their worst nightmare. We are not an “army” of people who plan to revolt. We ARE a group of people who refuse to take illegal action against citizens of the United States. We are here to protect our own.
Chittum, of Civil War II fame, pointed out that prior to and during civil upheaval, in multicultural utopias, police and military always break along various lines, with the probable outcome in the US for those lines to be race and ethnicity. I think Tom would agree that we can also add ideology and politics to that break up equation.
That the Oathkeepers are attesting they will refuse any orders to harass, intimidate or fire on American citizens, proves him correct once more, out of many times, and this organization of retired and active military and police, is breaking along lines of ideology right now…..and, so far, they’re 100% white. They staunchly reject anything racial at present, but is there any doubt black crime, misbehavior AND criminal conduct will force a battle line to be drawn that will be racial?
In other words, I don’t care how many mostly white organizations pop up….like the tea party crowd for another example…..and declare themselves non-racist organizations….AND THEY ARE……blacks will force them into a defensive racial position eventually.
With Obama’s declaration of forming a Civilian Defense Corps, “as well-funded and as strong as the military,” he not only has spooked many in the military and police into a defensive position he has many Americans buying guns and ammo in record numbers. The store shelves are cleared and back orders are standard on almost all ammo and many types of weapons. Added to his threats of forming his own army, is the growing awareness a la Henry Gates and always Jeremiah Wright, that makes it apparent to many that this man’s malfeasance in office could very well be America’s next big threat. Also, his appointment of Van Jones and other cadre, consisting of racists and revolutionaries in his cabinet and “CZAR” positions, doesn’t engender any kind of confidence in people that he is going to attempt to implement his Marxist agenda peacefully.
The SPLC is once more screeching hysterically for they see the emergence of white groups uniting. Of course they want to give the impression that these groups are “outlaw” groups, so they give the silly reasons for opposing them as described in the above article.
They’re frantically wringing their hands with worry, but they still haven’t reached the fever pitch of the nineties wherein they almost collapsed with uncontrolled lamentations with the literally overnight rise of the militias.
But, if they’re patient and wait just a bit longer, they’ll have those groups to contend with also, because they’re silently forming right now also. I wrote them an email and told them that.
I didn’t see the web site in the above article, so anybody wanting to access it to learn more, here they are:
http://oathkeepers.org/oath/
I think our government should be concerned about the SPLC. If they need someone to monitor there’s a good place to start. The SPLC is getting nuttier by the day.
It should be safe to say that when even those who claim to, “loath white supremacists” are reflexively smeared by Potok, Dees and Co. as “extremists,” that the SPLC is really reaching these days to find new boogeymen to chase around and malign!
When is someone going to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has anointed itself watchdog of who is a “hater” and who isn’t? As to the Oath Takers, I say, “More power to you!” Your predecessors in Massachusetts 230-odd years ago were called the “Sons of Liberty.” I think the comparison of Barack Obama with King George III was right on — extremely apt.
“According to the law center, militia groups are re-emerging in this country partly as a result of racial animosity toward Obama.”
This group, the Oath Keepers, isn’t really a militia organization and it has nothing to do with Obama being black or anything racial; it’s simply an organization of law enforcement officials who pledge to not do anything unconstitutional if the government orders them to do so.
The $PLC does not like this group for some reason, so they intentionally malign it by trying to associate it with racism and “white supremacy.”
How someone could possibly imagine that race is an essential component - or even a minor component - of the Oath Keepers is beyond me.
I haven’t a clue as to why the $PLC is deliberately smearing this organization. Any guesses?
“What’s troubling about Oath Keepers is the idea that men and women armed and ordered to protect the public in this country are clearly being drawn into a world of false conspiracy theory.”
It’s the SPLC that has been drawn into a world of false conspiracy theory, not Oath Keepers.
I’m glad to hear about such a group, and I hope many more join it.
Well, let’s see: Have the majority of Americans ever been asked if they wanted school busing? Have the majority of Americans ever been asked if they wanted affirmative action? Have the majority of Americans ever been asked if they ever wanted to change immigration laws to allow millions of non-whites into their society? Have the majority of Americans ever been asked if they wanted “minorities” to gain preference in college admissions? Have the majority of Americans ever been asked if we need ANY more immigrants? Or if the illegal ones should be deported?
Are we really a democracy? Or are powerful groups of multiculturalists really pulling strings to implement their social engineering? Finally, are these people, the Oath Keepers, really that extreme when they fear dictatorship?
The SPLC lists the Oath Keepers on their “Hatewatch” blog because one of their members “helped weaken gun control laws”.
So now defending the Second Amendment is hate speech?
-All- federal employees take a vow to protect and defend the Constitution. Not just law enforcement and military.
America was a country based on White, Western Civilization. It believed in things that are either meaningless or at least unattainable for Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. The SPLC sees more clearly than alot of Patriots obviously. They just don’t like what they see whereas we do. The exteme left and extreme right are clear about the situation-everyone else is confused.
“We say if the American people decide it’s time for a revolution, we’ll fight with you.”
That type of rhetoric has caught the attention of groups that track extremist activity in the United States.
——
What type of rhetoric?? Saying you’ll stand on the side of the American people is “rhetoric”?
As long as this group is pro-White, is distrustful of non-Whites in its ranks, and is aware of the situation facing the White world, I’m all for it.
Hmm, I’ve never heard of oathkeepers before today. Seems like my kind of outfit. I’ll definitely look into joining up.
I visited the website of Oath Keepers. I saw nothing racist or anti-semtitic on this website, for the Southern Poverty Law Center, or even the A.D.L., to complain about.
In fact, the Oath Keepers website says that its founder, Stewart Rhodes, has written for Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. No one from an anti-semitic organization like The National Alliance or Stormfront, would want to write anything for Jews for the Preservation of Ownership, or even be allowed by JPFO to do so.
It is bad enough that we have already lost many of our freedoms with the way that social security numbers are required on practically everthing in society. If we get national I.D. cards, it will only be the final blow that turns our country into a dictatorship.
Benjamin Franklin warned us that if we give up freedom for security, then we deserve neither. With anti-firearms ownership actions by anti-gun zealots to outlaw gun possesion, the proposal of national I.D cards as I mentioned earlier, increased government spying on law-abiding citizens, and other threats to our freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism, we need organizations like Oath Keepers, The National Rifle Association, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms, Gun Owners of America, and the Libertarian Party.
Thomas Jefferson warned us that the price of freedom is eternal vigilliance.
If Mark Potok and Morris Dees were taken to a black section of any city and left there to be on their own, like North Philadelphia, Harlem, New York City, or the worst sections of Detriot, the positions they hold with the Southern Poverty Law Center would do nothing to prevent them from being robbed, beaten up, getting called “whitey” and “honkie” and possibly even worse, like being murdered.
Did he accidentally stumble across the group one random day?
Or did the puppet masters at the splc call Mr. Maimon on speed dial to alert him to this ‘hate group’?
The media is wholly controlled by far-leftists who write these stories for their agents (‘reporters’) in the field. These agents just ‘copy and paste’ these press releases and publish them as alleged independent journalism.
It’s easy work for the ‘reporters’. They just print the story in their own voice.
That’s why you always see the splc name included with these stories. It’s not a coincident or the people they go to doing their research. It’s the splc that WRITES these stories.
In my opinion, the SPLC’s staff and members have contempt for, and do not trust, “the people out there”. In effect, the people who are not ensconsed in the left-wing ghettos of the East Coast are considered to be “dangerous” in their narrow, paranoid view of the world. Middle America, in their minds, must be monitored and controlled.
Because of this orientation, any occurance of independent words and actions by Middle America raises great fear and subsequent warnings such as this one from the SPLC. One can only hope that the US Government does not take these paranoid rantings of the SPLC seriously. Unfortunately, under the Obama administration they may heed them and strike down our freedoms.
if we ever do reach critical mass. heaven help the splc, and all its race baiting minions. they have been race baiters and demonizers of whites for years now just so they could get more contributions, but now that they have successfully turned most of the non-whites against the whites, and pressure continues to build against us, then something has to give sometime, and it would just be peachy to see the splc get caught up in the smoke.
The big problem is enforcing the laws of our nation. The prime example are the immigration laws. Also the president needs to prove he was born in the USA. I had to prove I am a American citizen for my present job, why can’t BHO?
As Rush Limbaugh repeats frequently, we are concerned about Obama’s color. But it is not the black that is of concern, it is the brightening tinge of red as his administration proceeds.
Military veteran, long time police officer and Oath Keepers member who takes the phrase “protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic” very seriously.
I am a reserve deputy sheriff with my county. My sheriff is of course an elected official and has his own worries. I’m just a deputy but I swore an oath which I mean to keep. I would gladly give my life to fulfill that oath and may well have to do just that. My fellow officiers will likely do the same. I have come to know many of them well.
John,
We are not a democracy. We are a republic. There is a major difference.
http://tinyurl.com/2e07
Sitting back and looking at the big global political picture, I have to say that it does not look very good.
There was a time when Europe, North America, Australia, etc were leaders and places of tremendous leadership and political stability. Justice, morality, safety, respect, productivity were cornerstones of the society.
Today I see great potential for riot and breakdown of law and order due to the general decline in the quality or business and political leadership at all levels.
Current trends do not bode well for continuation of the good times we have enjoyed so far since the second world war.
Cat Patrol: All Civil Service Employees, at the Village, City, County, and State levels take an Oath to uphold and Defend the U.S. Constitution.
That also includes such Volunteer Organizations as Fire Departments, Ambulance Corps, and Auxiliary Police Officers.
Being a White Englishman, it’s not surprising that this is the first I have heard about ‘Oath Keepers’ but on reading this story and the above responses, I can’t help but compare favourably with the aims of the British National Party. Now I have to carry out research into SPLC and discover what their beef is, however, I strongly suspect I will be proved correct in my presumptions.
I would like to ask that American Renaissance not promote this movement here on Amren.com
This is yet another “non racialist”, Constitutionalists, Libertarian - against big government patriot movement - pretending the US and the West do not have real, live or die racial problems.
>Rhodes] said. “And we’re not part and parcel of the white supremacist movement. I >loathe white supremacists.”
And any and all here should understand that “White supremacist” in the PC 2009 world includes any of us White persons who objects to rap music, mass NW immigration or thinks White farmers in Southern Africa shouldn’t be raped, murdered and terrorized - that would be “racist” and these Constitutionalist true believers still want to send missionaries to Zimbabwe and South Africa to try to “SAVE” everyone by teaching everyone the benefits of free markets, private property, less government, more personal responsibility and a return to Judeo Christian family values.
The reality is that we do have serious racial problems, our people face murder and mayhem, the real threat of dispossession, ethnic cleansing from communities, cities, states that our people built, these Constitutionalist libertarian true believers are in a cult, this cult is destructive to our people.
-All- federal employees take a vow to protect and defend the Constitution. Not just law enforcement and military.
The SPLC types are probably mostly upset because these are folks whom are not readily intimidated and can do something about if intimidation is tried out.
The SPLC, a liberal group, is concerned anti-government and anti-american rhetoric, could lead to violence, and it must be stopped. Is this intended to be comedy, where has the SPLC been the last 50 years?
Where have these guys been for the last eight years? It wasn’t the dems who made the national security state.
If anyone wants to find out what kind of guy Morris Dees, founder of the SPLC, really is, Google his divorce proceedings and check what came out about this “fine defender of the oppressed”. He pimped his wife and put the make on his daughter-in-law. A first class pervert.
The Oath Keepers despite their good intentions are pretty ignorant of constitutional law.
“2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people”
The 4th amendment prohibits only “unreasonable” searches and some warrantless searches are not unreasonable. The USSC carved out some exceptions to the warrant requirement: with consent, hot pursuit, probable cause, etc.
“…Oath Keepers is not preaching violence or government overthrow, Rhodes said. On the contrary, it is asking police and the military to lay down their arms in response to unlawful orders…”
Shouldn’t that be the very time to take up arms and not ‘lay them down.?’
What would have happened to the early defenders of the Declaration of Independence if they had vowed to ‘lay down their arms’ and not followed orders from the British Government? Would not the British forces have slaughtered the rebels on the spot?
Stalin was not wrong when he stated: “The only real power comes out of a long
This government is willfully disregarding the tenants of the Constitution and turning the US into an authoritarian police state lorded over by Hostile Elites.
If the government is not stopped from its current path, there will come a time when it won’t hesitate to use Soviet-style tactics to enforce its lefty policies of multi-culturalism, complete control of the ‘means of production’, punitive taxation and confiscation of White wealth and property, and White replacement by a less intelligent people more easily subjugated.
We will all be slaves of the state as the hostile elites redistribute our wealth to the fecund poor of the world.
Thomas Jefferson stated:
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
From Oath Keepers ‘Ten Orders We Will Not Obey’:
1. We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people.
Any such order today would also be an act of war against the American people, and thus an act of treason. ..Nor will we assist, or support any such attempt to disarm the people by other government entities, either state or federal.
In particular we oppose a renewal of the misnamed ‘assault-weapons’ ban or the enactment of H.R. 45 (which would register and track gun owners like convicted pedophiles).
http://tinyurl.com/n5onxa
Jefferson also stated:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Bon
One can only shake his head in amazement at the brazen chutzpah of Potok, who happily bleats his concern over people in the military / law enforcement “being drawn into a world of false conspiracy theory”. THIS, from a man whose organization, in fact his entire LIFE, is devoted to spinning a fantastic tapestry of false conspiracy with the claim that every organization that opposes his masters’ agenda is based on hate?
If anyone out there wants to see the face of hate in America, all they need do is gaze upon Mark Potok.
Sorry, Back in the inner city. We don’t believe you and you are outvoted. They/we are well aware of the problems you described in this country. The issue is the government is out of control and not listening to its citizens. Freedom in this country is only an illusion. There are people in the shadows who call the shots. How do you think this country got to this point in the first place? If they took our guns, we’d be at the mercy of every criminal, those IN government and the regular street hoodlums. For anyone who is opposed to gun ownership,. I tell them to post a BIG sign in their front window: GUN FREE HOME and see how long it takes before they are home-invaded or burglarized. It happens all the time and is not repported in the media. These things I hear about “in the wind”.
I have worried about what would happen if law enforcement was to be forced to do illegal search and seizures such as happened in New Orleans following Katrina.
As long as this group does not take any anti-white stance then I see no problems with them. That should be our litmus test, are they or they not anti-white?
4 Ranger, 9 Anon, 14 Freyr, 16 Anon, 30 Back in the inner city, and others are all speaking to the Oathkeepers racial awareness or lack thereof. I agree with 14 Freyr that the SPLC knows what it’s talking about. Any organization that actively supports American values is an enemy to them. And any organization of patriotic cops and military, whether they are “racist” or not, will be racially aware. Is it an accident that these people are all White? Who knows more about racial reality than cops and the military? The cops’ career is largely cleaning up after non-Whites. The military has been dealing with non-Whites and their deficiencies for decades, trying to make soldiers and sailors out of them. Don’t complain if these people aren’t flying the Confederate flag, it’s enough that they swear defiance of the Federal government. They are meeting, discussing, organizing, screening for nutcakes and agents provocateur, and otherwise establishing a resistance movement. No doubt there will be spinoff outfits below the radar. This is mass subversion of the anti-White leviathan’s teeth and claws, and we should support them, though we may need to keep our pro-White fingerprints off.
2 — Vindicator wrote at 6:19 PM on October 19:
….”I just joined Oath Keepers and I read no where, that it was against Blacks or anyone else besides commies and dictators!” …
This is the problem with any group; someone, or some few, end up interpreting who is the enemy. “Commies and dictators!”…. So, who is a commie and who is a dictator? Religion is a set of dictates, do you propose to do away with that? I fear that this is just another Christian Conservative Movement that supposes it understands the Constitution, but has members that have never read it themselves.
I had no idea that there were actually law enforcement people who were or are awakened, let alone organized. Hopefully this would be a start to some organized action on the part of people trying to get this country back on the right road (if it can ever be reclaimed that is) The SPLC is up to their usual tricks trying to demonize real American patriots. If all of us awaken they’ll have to put all 200 million White non-Hispanic Americans on their list - and that won’t be feasible.
Obviously if Americans don’t want to assist foreign troops in pacifying their fellow American citizens or engage in illegal warantless searches and what not then according to SPLC logic: they just have to be a hate group.
When the American public is finally someday told the truth they will roll up organizations like the SPLC whose reasoning is diametrically opposed to their well-being.
When I was in ROTC class many years ago, we were taught that there were three criteria for an order to be lawful:
1. The order must be transmitted (or otherwise communicated);
And if any of these criteria were not met, we were instructed not to act on that order. If fact, we were taught that we must judge for ourselves whether all orders met these criteria, and if they did not, we MUST not act upon them.
This is nothing more or less than what the Oath Keepers want from its members. How can anyone object to that, especially since it is (was?) the policy of the United States armed forces?
— Simmons wrote:
