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Will the Oath Keepers Founder Spill on the Jan. 6 Organizers?

2022-01-09
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R&I – FS

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, has the power to burn some top right-wing personalities who pissed him off. It’s unclear if he’ll actually do it.

Members of the Oath Keepers, the far-right militia group which featured prominently during last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, feel betrayed by the headliners of the protests that day—names like Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and Ali Alexander. According to the Oath Keeper’s lawyer, those organizers of the Jan. 6, 2021, rally asked the militia to stand guard for them on that fateful day.

If that’s really the case, it could introduce even more culpability for those GOP figures.

But Rhodes hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll answer questions at his upcoming testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, according to a person familiar with this thinking.

Rhodes was slated to appear before the House panel in a closed-door hearing this week, according to an attorney with direct knowledge of the arrangement, but the testimony was postponed for unclear reasons. If and when Rhodes does appear, though, he could shine a light on a number of key questions for investigators. Rhodes has information about the planning, coordination, and intent of organizers, as well as any possible preparations for violence and connections to government officials.

Rhodes has floated the idea of asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-discrimination, because he spoke with FBI agents last year about rally organizers and speakers, according to an attorney representing the militia group.

Even if Rhodes—a Yale-educated lawyer—does decide to answer questions, there’s no guarantee he will clear much up for the House committee. He may even cloud things further.

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Article URL : https://www.thedailybeast.com/will-the-oath-keepers-founder-stewart-rhodes-spill-on-the-jan-6-organizers?via=twitter_page