Secret Service agents corresponded with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes as the group requested to provide security detail for supporters of President Donald Trump during a rally in late 2020, after the agency previously denied any contact with Rhodes, according to a report by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year.
An email from an unnamed Secret Service agent indicated they were contacted by the group, which said they hoped to “provide protection and medical attention to Trump supporters if they come under attack by leftist groups” during a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in September 2020, CREW reported.
The agent—who said they were the “unofficial liaison to the Oath Keepers”—also noted they “received a call” from Rhodes, who had specific questions and “wanted to liaison with our personnel.”
Another agent also said they contacted Rhodes and other members of the Oath Keepers on September 16, 2020, while informing other agents the group’s “desire is to assist those attending the event make it to and from their cars safely” while adding “they are NOT there to demonstrate or push a political agenda.”
A “social media analysis” was conducted by another agent, who said “general searches” revealed background information for Rhodes—who “denounced White Nationalist ideals while sharing his dislike for ANTIFA”—and the Oath Keepers, which “claims it is a local community response team for natural or civil disorders.”
A Facebook account associated with the Oath Keepers also “contained pro-gun content, commentary on racism in the U.S., and news articles about politics,” the agent wrote.
The emails appear to contradict a previous statement by the Secret Service, which told CNN the agency “does not have enough information” to say whether a call between Rhodes and Secret Service agents ever took place.
Rhodes has previously denied the group’s ties to white nationalism, suggesting the Oath Keepers were “civic nationalist rather than white nationalists.” The group previously worked alongside neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups—including the National Socialist Movement and the Ku Klux Klan—during the 2016 presidential election, according to Politico, as members were deployed at polling sites for “intelligence-gathering.” In 2014, the St. Louis County Police Department requested Oath Keepers stop patrolling the rooftops of businesses in Ferguson, Missouri, amid ongoing protests. The group returned a year later, indicating it was protecting businesses and journalists during another protest, including a reporter from the far-right outlet InfoWars. That same year, Rhodes reportedly called for former Sen. John McCain (R-Ari.) to be tried for treason and be “hung by the neck until death.”
The Oath Keepers—a nationwide right-wing militia group founded by Rhodes in 2009—is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group with antigovernment ideals. John Zimmerman, who led the North Carolina faction of the Oath Keepers, testified in October that Rhodes was in contact with a Secret Service agent in an effort to provide security detail for Trump supporters. Rhodes allegedly told Zimmerman that Security Service agents advised him on what weapons were allowed near the Fayetteville rally. Several of the group’s members have been convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A federal judge sentenced Rhodes to 18 years in prison earlier this year after he was convicted on seditious conspiracy charges related to the attack, adding Rhodes “was the one giving the orders.” Rhodes—who was not accused of entering the Capitol—“was the one organizing the teams that day,” Judge Amit Mehta said.
Emails Reveal Secret Service Contacts With Oath Keepers (CREW)
Oath Keepers Founder Gets 18-Year Sentence For Seditious Conspiracy—Longest Jan. 6 Sentence So Far (Forbes)