intel advisory oath keepers

8/8/2019 Intel Advisory Oath Keepers

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lntel l igence dvisory 201 -0

TITLE:

(SBU) he Oath Keepers

November 4 ,20Ag

DISTRIBUTION:

TIGTA Office of lnvestigations xecutive taffTIGTA SAC, Contract raud nd Criminal ntelligence ivisionTIGTA Field SACsTIGTA FieldASACs

CONTACT:

NikkiN. Rawls, ntelligence esearch pecialistCrim nal ntelligence/CountefterrorismContract raud and Criminal ntelligence ivision(202) e27-7185

UNCLASSIFIED//LAW NFORCEMENT ENSITIVE: This information sth e property of the Treasury nspector General or Tax Administration(TIGTA) nd may not be distributed without TIGTA authorization.Precautions should be taken o ensure his information s stored andiordestroyed n a manner ha t precludes unauthorized access.

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fNTRODUCTION: heOath Keepers re rapidly rowing on-parlisan roupcomprised fcurrent nd ormermilitary ersonnel nd aw enforcement fficers.Members f hisorganization ave vowed o uphold he Consti tut ion gainst l lenemies, oreign nd domestic. Members ave pledged n oath to th6Constitution, ot o the

President f the United States. When members f thisorganization ake heiroath, hey recite n amended ersion f the Constitutionthat excludes he ollowing tatement: l willobey he orders f the president ofthe UnitedStates". Members f the Oath Keepers ho are active members fthe military nd aw enforcement ave pledged o disobey ertain ypothetical"orders", uch as "to put American itizens n deteniion amps', nd-,ito isarmthe American eople".

MEMBERSHIP: his organization as established y Stewart Rhodes, n March2CI09. tewartRhodes esides n Las Vegas, Nevada, nd s a former UnitedStates Army paratrooper nd irearms nstructor. He was also a former staffrnember

or Congressman on Paul. Rhodes raduated rom Yale University(School f Law)and currently rites a column Enemy i the Gate) or he awenforcement ublication, pecial weapons and actics s.w.A.T). stewartRhodes s not of record with TIGTA.

Members elieve n he ongstanding heories mbraced y anti-governmentextremists nd claim hat he United States Government s creating policestate. Therefore, ccording o the group's website www.oathKeepers.org ),members ill not obey he orders established y he united statesGovernment, f hey believe t violates he rights f the American eople.

The group as 10 Orders hey adhere o as members:"wlLLNor conduct arrantless earches f American eople, heirhomes, ehicles, apers, r effects. For example: ouse o housesearches or weapons r persons."

'WILLNOT detain merican itizens s unlawfulenemv combatants' r osubject hem o trialby military ribunal

'wlLL Nor impose martial aw or a "state femergency" n any state,without he express onsent nd nvitation f hat state's egislature nd

governor.""WILLNOT nvade r subjugate ny state hat asserts t sovereignty nddeclares he national overnment o be n violation f he compact vwhich he state entered he Union."

"Wf L NOT obey any order o blockade merican ities, hus urning hemintogiant concentration amps."

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"WILLNOT obey any order o force American itizens nto anv orm ofdetention amps under.any retext."

"WILLNOT obey orders o assist r support he use of any oreign roops

on U.s. soii against he American eople o "keep he peace" or-tomaintain ontrol" uringany emergency, r under ny other pretext. wewillconsider uch use of foreign roops against ur people o be aninvasion nd act of war."

"WILLNOT obey orders o confiscate he property f the American eopte,including ood and other essential upplies, nder ny emergency retextwhatsoever."

"WILLNOT obey any orders which nfringe n he rightof the people ofree speech, o peaceably ssemble, nd o petition heir government or a

redress or qrievances."

The organization's otto s "Not on our Watch". According o Stewart Rhooes,as repofied y he Las Vegas Review ournal, he mission f the Oath Keepersis o stop a dictatorship rom occurring n he UnitedStates.

On October 4,2009, he Oath Keepers eld heir irst naugural elebration nLas Vegas, Nevada. According o the Anti-Defamation eague, pproximately100 people ttended.

According o open sources, he Oath Keepers o not have riteriafor oining;however, ctive members arget current, etired and ormer aw enforcementofficers nd rnilitary ersonnel. hey appeal o this audience y reminding hemthey swore an oath o defend he Constitution fromallenemies, oreign nddomestic", nd suggesting hat now s the ime o live up o the oath by resistingan allegedly yrannical overnment.

The oath Keepers ave members n he ollowing reas: Montana, Nevada,Texas, llinois, ouisiana, rkansas, North carolina, Massachusetts, rizona,and owa. According o the Las Vegas Review ournal, he oath Keepers

According o the Las Vegas Review ournal, he group has grown oapproximately ,000 dues-paying embers. Some members ave oinedanonymously ecause hey are current aw enforcement fficers r active militarypersonnel, nd ear disciplinary ctions rom heir espective rganizations.According o the Las Vegas Review ournal, he Las Vegas Metropolitan oliceDepartment Lt.Kevin MacMahill) s aware of the Oath Keepers, nd t isspeculated hat several officers of the Las Vegas Police Departrnent re

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members f his organization. s a result f the widespread nonymity, t isdifficulto confirm ach member's ffiliationr ocate valid erb"rrhip roster.

The Las Vegas Review ournal as reported he ollowingndividuals s activeboard members: . Jeffrey Black Federal aw enforcement iaison), avy

Commander avid Gillie Navy Liaison) nd DavidFreeman peace Officerl i a i son) .

The oath Keepers ave seven state Directors, f whom hree have beenidentif ied; ontana Franklin hook, ka: Elias l ias) , ennessee ArmyRetsgt Rand ardwell) nd Massachusetts Retired hief rom BoltonMassachusetts oliceDepartment, eliaS. Hyde).

According o former Arizona SheriffRichard Mack an activeOath Keepermember), he Sheriff s the most power-fulaw enforcement fficer-,nd has heultimate ay n his/her ounty SheriffMack believes either he President f theUnited States r any Department eneath he President as authoritv over aSheriff. He also stated hat he prays or he day when a Sheriff rrests

"nnternal evenue ervices lRS) Agent or rying o victimize he citizens n aSheriff 's ounty,

THREE PERCENTERS: ithin he Oath Keepers, here may be an unconfirmedalliance fgun owners nown as "Three ercenters". According o the Anti-Defamation eague, his organization ormed n ate 2O0B; hey are an organizedmovement entered n an obscure deology hat claimed nly hree percent fthe American opulation arlicipated s combatants n he Revolutionary ar.The group asserts hat hey are a modern counterpart o that mythical frreepercent fAmerican Revolutionary ra patriots, nd also epresent he hreepercent f he population f American un owners whowillnot disarm". ThreePercenters oday are gun owners who will not disarm, willnot compromise, ndwillno onger upport he passage f he next Gu n control Act. ThreePercenters laim hat hey will not obey any urther imitations f their raditionaltiberties nd willdefend hemselves fattacked. They are willingo fight, die andif orced by any oppressor, ill n he defense f hemselves nd he Constitution.Below s he Doctrine f the Three Percenters:

We willnot disarm.You cannot onvince s.You cannot ntimidate s.You can ry o killus, f you hinkyou can.But emember, e'llshoot back.And we are not going away.Your move

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Accordinghe Anti-Defamationeague, ctivemilitary ersonneln raq arewearing atches o symbolize heir upporl f he OathKeepers s welias heThreePercenters. tewart hodes as writtenhat he OathKeepers atchworn by active military ersonnel n raq s not authentic araphernalia reated yihe organization. s a result, he oath Keepers re planning o send care

packages hat nclude official" ath Keepers atches nd nVns to ,,tensofthousands" f aciive duty roops between November 1,20ag Veterans ay),and December 5,2009 Bil l f RightsDay)

It s unconfirmed f he Three Percenters re a group within he Oath Keepers,but Rhodes as written upporlively f them. Two members arlicipated n anoath Keeper vent t he Vietnam ar Memorial n washington, .c. , onseptember 2,2aag; hey carried he Three ercenters 'Flag. The event wasstaged n the same day as an anti-government ea Party ally hat attracted ensof thousands fpeople.

ANALYSIS: The Deparlment f Homeland ecurity onsiders group hatrejects ederal uthority n avor of localauthority s "rightwing nremists". Thisis according o an April 7, 2009, threat nalysis" eleased y he agency.To date, he oath Keepers o not appear iolent. However, he group rasmembers hat are anti-government nd/or nti-tax, hichcan promote hepotential or violence. hey build heir organization n he deology f falseconspiracy, y upholding he Constitution or he American eople. According othe Southern overty aw Center, his kindof conspiracy-theor y s what drives asmall umber fpeople o criminal iolence. ddit ionally,he men and women ofthe Oath Keepers re armed and trained n firearms use, by virtue of their awenforcement nd military rofessions.

The Oath Keepers o not appear o be a direct hreat o the Treasury nspectorGeneral or Tax Administration TIGTA) r he Internal evenue ervice lRS) atthis ime; however, e should emain igilant f them. They are an organizationthat s quickly aining otoriety mong aw enforcement fficers nd m-ititarypersonnel ho are anti-government. ontrary o Stewart Rhodes' tatemenrsthat his organization s not anti-government nd not anti-tax, ome of hemembers ppear o be. As found on he organization' s ebsite,wvwv.Oathkeepers.orq, ome members ave expressed heir dislike f presidentobama and compared merica now, o Adolf Hifler 'sGermany. one memberwas videotaped allingPresident Obama he domestic nemy of the Constitution.

According o Rhodes, t s not he group's osition o overturn he government rpromote iolence, ut he Oath Keepers s comprised f active members who area nti-govern ent and/or nti-tax.

InApril2009, n Oklahoma an (Daniel night) ho claimedmembership iththe Oath Keepers was arrested or threatening iolence at an anti-tax rotest n

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Oklahoma. ccording o Stewarl Rhodes, owever, hisman s not a member fthe Oath Keepers.

. , I . J I' r. , i1ft- :

OathKeeper ontana tateDirectorElias l ias .

. , .:.,i,,.,:: , : 1 . ,

AKA:Franklin hook)

by active military personnel symbolizing he "ThreePercenters".

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oath Keepers Massachusetts tate Director celia Hyde)

Tennessee tate Director, Retired Army sergeant Rand cardwell

REFERENCES:

./iwww.splcenter.o gl10l21loath-k ers-sav-thiraql

: / i .com/states-64690232.htm1

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i lvchronicle.comi 2009lABl23ln al ias . txt

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intel advisory oath keepers

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