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BumRushDaShow

(165,660 posts)
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 07:59 AM Dec 30

The Oath Keepers are coming back

Source: Salon

Published December 30, 2025 6:00AM (EST)


Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia, announced in November 2025 that he will relaunch the group after it disbanded following his prison sentence in 2023. Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes committed during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump granted clemency to the over 1,500 defendants convicted of crimes connected to the storming of the Capitol. Trump did not pardon Rhodes – or some others found guilty of the most serious crimes on Jan. 6. He instead commuted Rhodes’ sentence to time served. Commutation only reduces the punishment for a crime, whereas a full pardon erases a conviction.

As a political anthropologist I study the Patriot movement, a collection of anti-government right-wing groups that include the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Moms for Liberty. I specialize in alt-right beliefs, and I have interviewed people active in groups that participated in the Capitol riot.

Rhodes’ plans to relaunch the Oath Keepers, largely composed of current and former military veterans and law enforcement officers, is important because it will serve as an outlet for those who have felt lost since his imprisonment. The group claimed it had over 40,000 dues-paying members at the height of its membership during Barack Obama’s presidency. I believe that many of these people will return to the group, empowered by the lack of any substantial punishment resulting from the pardons for crimes committed on Jan. 6.

Read more: https://www.salon.com/2025/12/30/the-oath-keepers-are-coming-back_partner/

43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The Oath Keepers are coming back (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Dec 30 OP
The Klan by any other name..... Trump's The Wizard Dec 30 #1
Thanks, Merrick orangecrush Dec 30 #2
Thank the felon for undoing what rule-of-law Merrick did. ancianita Dec 30 #22
And he did little... 2naSalit Dec 30 #32
I hear you ancianita Dec 30 #36
All that orangecrush Dec 30 #33
So you admit it was all that. ancianita Dec 30 #35
But wait ... orangecrush Dec 30 #37
"A full pardon erases conviction" Roy Rolling Dec 30 #3
I think you're right. ... marble falls Dec 30 #4
Nah - let him stay ignorant drmeow Dec 30 #29
That's why JustAnotherGen Dec 30 #17
I'll wager a lot of them are now getting paid by ICE to do what they wanted to do as Oath Keepers. tanyev Dec 30 #5
I would not want to take that wager! (n/t) OldBaldy1701E Dec 30 #14
Yep. A lot of them. No doubt about it awesomerwb1 Dec 30 #18
Surgeon reimplants dangerous tumor that was recently removed from patient. LastDemocratInSC Dec 30 #6
Probably a lot of those thugs are ICE agents now nuxvomica Dec 30 #7
He felt sorry for 'em. 3Hotdogs Dec 30 #8
Those Republicans who insist that the J6 insurrectionists were "just a normal tourist visit" forgot one thing Rhiannon12866 Wednesday #42
"...empowered by the lack of any substantial punishment resulting from the pardons..." J_William_Ryan Dec 30 #9
I think I read somewhere odins folly Dec 30 #10
Don't fuck them liberalgunwilltravel Dec 30 #12
Good liberalgunwilltravel Dec 30 #11
I would be very amused if someone leaks the client list after they get started again. OldBaldy1701E Dec 30 #15
Trump wants them active for the midterms! lark Dec 30 #13
Missing the forest through the trees. Hieronymus Phact Dec 30 #16
Jeezus, so rude. Discourages folks from posting Joinfortmill Dec 30 #23
"Alexander Lowie, Postdoctoral associate in Classical and Civic Education" drmeow Dec 30 #31
Stewart Rhodes founded Oath Keepers because Barack Obama was elected president. It's white supremacy not Patriotism. ChicagoTeamster Dec 30 #19
I wondered how many of the far right militants who belong to Oath Keepers, Proud Boys etc Fla Dem Dec 30 #20
This is literally a terrorist group SpankMe Dec 30 #21
ding. this . AllaN01Bear Dec 30 #25
oaf keepers ? hem AllaN01Bear Dec 30 #24
aka/dba... alterfurz Wednesday #41
lol. AllaN01Bear Wednesday #43
Aren't They All ICE Now? Deep State Witch Dec 30 #26
Why not? They're criming all forgiven by mob boss leader. Evolve Dammit Dec 30 #27
Got to ARREST him as soon as possible. (STATE CHARGES of course) bluestarone Dec 30 #28
These fucking psychopaths belong in prison and should be shunned from society. Initech Dec 30 #30
I knew that scum would return. BradBo Dec 30 #34
Oh no, not the Oaf Queefers! Blumancru Dec 30 #38
Great 👍🏽 live love laugh Wednesday #39
Good, setting themselves up Deminpenn Wednesday #40

The Wizard

(13,584 posts)
1. The Klan by any other name..... Trump's
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:12 AM
Dec 30

Brownshirt enforcers.
The Klan has supported only one candidate for president since its inception, Trumple Foreskin.

ancianita

(42,844 posts)
22. Thank the felon for undoing what rule-of-law Merrick did.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 10:52 AM
Dec 30

Under Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Department of Justice secured seditious conspiracy convictions against a total of 10 individuals connect3ed with the January 6th Capitol attack.
These convictions came from two major cases against the leaders and members of far-right extremist groups: the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.

Oath Keepers: Six members of the Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were convicted of seditious conspiracy across two separate trials. Under Merrick a jury convicted Rhodes of Seditious conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 2384),
Obstructing an official proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1512), and Tampering with documents and proceedings (18 U.S.C. § 1512)
in November 2022. Each member was sentenced to 18 yrs in prison.
Commutation and Release: Rhodes' sentence was commuted to time served by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025. As a result, Rhodes was released from prison on January 21, 2025.
However, following his release, a federal judge issued an order barring Rhodes from entering Washington, D.C., without the court's prior approval.

Proud Boys: Merrick's DOJ convicted four leaders of the Proud Boys for seditious conspiracy, including former national chairman Enrique Tarrio (who was sentenced to 22 years in prison) convicted on multiple charges. He got 22 years in prison in September 2023, the longest sentence handed down to any Jan. 6 defendant. The judge applied a "terrorism enhancement" to his sentence
The charge of seditious conspiracy can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Garland's DOJ secured these convictions as part of its commitment to holding accountable those criminally responsible for the assault on American democracy.

Put down the haterade.

2naSalit

(99,979 posts)
32. And he did little...
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 12:46 PM
Dec 30

To deal with the head of the snake, that being the orange thing, and waited and waited and waited to even put Jack Smith to work. He wasted too much time and now all he actually did accomplish has been undone. I wonder how many $million$ of our tax dollars were wasted there.

I was a defender of Garland until it was clear he wasn't going to do his job completely. Now, I am so disgusted because look where it got us... here.

ancianita

(42,844 posts)
36. I hear you
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 03:19 PM
Dec 30

and appreciate that you've given a more thoughtful opinion than is common around here.

ancianita

(42,844 posts)
35. So you admit it was all that.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 03:17 PM
Dec 30

With
-- 1,200 Capitol attack convictions, the largest in DOJ history
-- 61 convictions out of 87 people charged in Covid fraud schemes
-- clawing back $12 billion from financial fraud convictions
-- securing over $150 million in relief for communities of color facing lending discrimination
-- Garland's Civil Rights Division identified evidence of persistent unconstitutional police practices in using excessive force by
------ the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) used excessive force (including neck restraints), unlawfully discriminated against Black and Native American residents during stops, and violated the rights of protesters.
------ the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) used unjustified neck restraints, conducted searches with invalid warrants, and engaged in discriminatory policing against Black residents.
------ the Phoenix Police Department used excessive force, unlawfully detained homeless people, and discriminated against minority communities.
------ evidence of systemic misconduct in Trenton (NJ), Memphis (TN), Worcester (MA), and Mount Vernon (NY).
-- according to Pew Research, in any given fiscal year during Garland's tenure (e.g., 2022), 99.6% of federal defendants who reached a case conclusion were convicted.

It's unbecoming of Democrats to impulsively scapegoat and mock effort posts.

Roy Rolling

(7,419 posts)
3. "A full pardon erases conviction"
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:26 AM
Dec 30

I don’t think this is accurate.

I understand that a pardon keeps the criminal record but restores voting rights, etc.

marble falls

(71,020 posts)
4. I think you're right. ...
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:31 AM
Dec 30

... He's trying to become relevant. He's Chalkie Birk with weapons. His 15 minutes is up. No TACO, no Oaf Keepers.

He needs to brush up on his Nazi history and remember what happened to Ernst Röhm and the Brown Shirt leadership June 30 to July 2nd 1934.

drmeow

(5,924 posts)
29. Nah - let him stay ignorant
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 12:16 PM
Dec 30

think of how much more fun it will be for him when his dear leader turns on him unexpectedly!

JustAnotherGen

(37,554 posts)
17. That's why
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:48 AM
Dec 30

We can't return to the status quo when this ends.

We didn't take away their right to vote in 1865, molly coddled them in 1877, and their descendants "rose again". Nope.

All 1500 need to lose the right to vote for the rest of their lives. We do this via Citizen Tribunals as opposed to the Status Quo Justice system that leads up to the Supremes. We only have 3 good people on it - so it's of low value.

tanyev

(48,658 posts)
5. I'll wager a lot of them are now getting paid by ICE to do what they wanted to do as Oath Keepers.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:37 AM
Dec 30

😒

nuxvomica

(13,888 posts)
7. Probably a lot of those thugs are ICE agents now
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:38 AM
Dec 30

It's interesting that while TSF insisted the J6ers were only "tourists", he stopped short of full pardon for some of them. Why make that distinction if you aren't tacitly admitting they were the bad guys?

3Hotdogs

(15,030 posts)
8. He felt sorry for 'em.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:45 AM
Dec 30

It was near Christmas and their kids were home without no toys under the tree and nothing but gruel to eat for Christmas breakfast.

Rhiannon12866

(250,082 posts)
42. Those Republicans who insist that the J6 insurrectionists were "just a normal tourist visit" forgot one thing
Wed Dec 31, 2025, 06:57 AM
Wednesday

The Capitol and other government buildings were closed to visitors at the time due to Covid.

J_William_Ryan

(3,338 posts)
9. "...empowered by the lack of any substantial punishment resulting from the pardons..."
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 08:48 AM
Dec 30

Empowered also by a fascist Trump regime tolerant of rightwing lawlessness and violence.

odins folly

(547 posts)
10. I think I read somewhere
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:11 AM
Dec 30

Don’t remember where, that he was restarting the group to act as something something when the shitbag needed to call up the militia to watch for voter issues or some such nonsense…

Fuck those guys…

liberalgunwilltravel

(1,078 posts)
12. Don't fuck them
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:16 AM
Dec 30

You'll get a nasty disease. But if the try and harass voters, they should be at least arrested if not worse.

liberalgunwilltravel

(1,078 posts)
11. Good
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:15 AM
Dec 30

Identify yourself as traitors and threats to our republic. It will make it easier to bring you to justice when the felon is removed.

OldBaldy1701E

(10,163 posts)
15. I would be very amused if someone leaks the client list after they get started again.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:37 AM
Dec 30

You know... just to have an idea of who feels that way.

lark

(25,889 posts)
13. Trump wants them active for the midterms!
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:19 AM
Dec 30

Bet he asked them to reconstitute to help steal the election.

Hieronymus Phact

(721 posts)
16. Missing the forest through the trees.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:44 AM
Dec 30

Last edited Tue Dec 30, 2025, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)

"As a political anthropologist I study the Patriot movement, a collection of anti-government right-wing groups"
Than you're studying it wrong.
They aren't anti-government in the first place.
They're Fascists, they love big government as long as it's used against their opposition.
As fascists do, they lie a lot. Claiming to be anti-government was just a scam.

Please update your approach.

As always: Never trust anyone so stupid he shot his own eye out.

drmeow

(5,924 posts)
31. "Alexander Lowie, Postdoctoral associate in Classical and Civic Education"
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 12:23 PM
Dec 30

"anti-government right-wing groups" is most likely an academic classification. It includes anti-government fascist right wing groups and anti-government libertarian right wing groups. I think a Postdoc knows that he studies.

ChicagoTeamster

(434 posts)
19. Stewart Rhodes founded Oath Keepers because Barack Obama was elected president. It's white supremacy not Patriotism.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 09:55 AM
Dec 30

Fla Dem

(27,421 posts)
20. I wondered how many of the far right militants who belong to Oath Keepers, Proud Boys etc
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 10:01 AM
Dec 30

are the ones who answered Trump's call to join ICE.

Inside the facility where ICE is training recruits to take on Trump's deportation goals
Nation Aug 22, 2025 9:37 AM EST


Ramping up hiring, training
ICE is getting $76.5 billion in new money from Congress to help it meet Trump's mass deportation goal. That's nearly 10 times the agency's current annual budget. Nearly $30 billion of that money is for new staff.

They're hiring across the agency, including investigators and lawyers, but the numbers they're hiring in those areas pale in comparison to how many deportation officers are coming on board. Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, was at the training demonstration Thursday. He said the agency currently has about 6,500 deportation officers and is aiming to hire 10,000 more by the end of the year.

With that hiring surge has come concerns that vetting or training of new recruits will be shortchanged. The Border Patrol went through a similar hiring surge in the early 2000s when hiring and training standards were changed; arrests for employee misconduct rose.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/inside-the-facility-where-ice-is-training-recruits-to-take-on-trumps-deportation-goals#:~:text=Ramping%20up%20hiring%2C%20training,the%20end%20of%20the%20year.

Deep State Witch

(12,561 posts)
26. Aren't They All ICE Now?
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 11:35 AM
Dec 30

I mean, there's a reason why the ICE goons are keeping their faces covered. They know that facial recognition will peg them as Oaf Creepers and J6ers.

Initech

(107,410 posts)
30. These fucking psychopaths belong in prison and should be shunned from society.
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 12:21 PM
Dec 30

Fuck the Proud Boys, fuck the Oath Keepers, fuck the III%ers, and fuck their shitty worthless president.

Blumancru

(210 posts)
38. Oh no, not the Oaf Queefers!
Tue Dec 30, 2025, 05:19 PM
Dec 30

The genital herpes of RW Neonazi groups. Just when you think they are gone, there is another outbreak.

Deminpenn

(17,289 posts)
40. Good, setting themselves up
Wed Dec 31, 2025, 04:43 AM
Wednesday

to commit new crimes for which they can be tried, convicted and imprisoned again by a Dem AG who is not afraid of his or her own shadow.

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