Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes took the stand in federal court Friday in an attempt to convince a jury of Washington residents that he committed no crime when members of his group went into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rhodes asserted his belief — unsupported by courts — that the 2020 presidential election was “unconstitutional,” because of pandemic-related changes made to voting procedures in some states. “That made it invalid,” Rhodes said.
But he also sought to downplay the Oath Keepers’ desire for violence. He contrasted his group with the Proud Boys, another far-right organization, saying they “want to go and street fight” while the Oath Keepers preferred to “stay calm.”
Rhodes stayed outside the building on Jan. 6., but prosecutors argue he was the ringleader of a seditious conspiracy to keep Trump in office that began months before the Capitol riot and continued for months afterward.
He is on trial with four others accused of taking part in that conspiracy: Florida Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs, his fellow Florida Oath Keeper Kenneth Harrelson, Ohio Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell, a Virginian who never formally joined the group but allied with them before the first of three Trump-related events in the District in November 2020.
Rhodes’s decision to take the stand is notable, as it is rare for defendants to testify at their own trials, and Rhodes’s case is one of the most high-profile so far in the sprawling Jan. 6 investigation.
He testified for about 80 minutes on Friday as defense attorneys began presenting their case, and is scheduled to continue doing so Monday. He has not yet discussed the events of Jan. 6 in any detail, nor has he faced any cross-examination from prosecutors. The jury was excused for the weekend before noon.
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Rhodes has a degree from Yale Law School, but he was disbarred in Montana for failing to appear at court hearings and is represented at trial by criminal defense attorneys.
Over several weeks, more than two dozen witnesses have testified against Rhodes and the others. Jurors have heard former members of the Oath Keepers say that while there was no specific prior plan or order from Rhodes to enter the Capitol, they understood that he wanted them to block the transfer of presidential power by force if necessary. Jurors have also seen scores of text messages in which Rhodes appeared to endorse violence in response to the election.
Before and after Jan. 6, the records shown in court indicate, Rhodes was pushing Trump to deputize private militant groups to keep control of the White House. Rhodes has argued that he believes that would have been a lawful order, and that he only brought his members and their firearms to D.C. to be prepared for a possible civil war.
He testified Friday that antifascists had “attacked the White House” already, forcing Trump into a bunker — an apparent reference to a June 2020 racial justice protest where several people hopped over temporary fencing near the Treasury Department, which borders the White House grounds.
After that incident, Rhodes testified, he wanted to make clear to Trump that invoking the Insurrection Act was an option.
“I wanted to make clear … President Trump could … rely on us and other veterans to protect the White House,” he said. He said he wanted to warn antifascists against an attack, and argued that he succeeded.
“They didn’t even try it. And President Trump didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act,” he said.
Prosecutors counter that Rhodes was not just anticipating but fomenting conflict, and that until members started getting arrested for their actions on Jan. 6, he was planning for more violent action. The Insurrection Act refers to deploying the U.S. military, not private militant groups, the government says.
Rhodes, who spent three years in the Army before suffering a disabling parachuting accident, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 to bring together people with military and law enforcement backgrounds who would pledge to resist unconstitutional federal overreach. Over time, former members say, the group evolved from libertarian to partisan and extremist, aligning itself with white supremacists and with Trump.
On the stand, Rhodes emphasized that he is a quarter Mexican, and said neo-Nazis were not welcome in the Oath Keepers.
“If we found someone that was a racist, we’d kick ‘em right out,” he testified.
He said the group’s “first big security operation” was in Ferguson, Mo., after the police killing of Michael Brown sparked unrest, and his group helped to protect a neighborhood bakery which had been threatened with arson. Rhodes said he was critical of local law enforcement for their handling of protesters and use of force. “We supported their right to protest,” he said.
Rhodes said he preferred using current or former police officers for his security operations, both for their familiarity with the law and their ability to legally carry guns in places where civilians could not. He also said that the Oath Keepers would meet or speak with law enforcement before launching an operation near a protest or political event, which he described as necessary to protect speakers or even attendees from being randomly attacked.
“We did a lot of Trump rallies” where guns were prohibited by the Secret Service, Rhodes said. “We’d have our guys stay outside the venue, coordinate with Secret Service and police, let ’em know we’re there. Wherever the line was with no firearm, we’d stay outside that line with retired police officers, ready to go. It might sound excessive but people were being attacked.”
Rhodes said no Oath Keepers had ever used force or been arrested during hundreds of operations. “No event we’ve ever done resulted in charges, until now,” he said.
Rhodes said the Oath Keepers’ membership, with a $50 annual fee, peaked at about 40,000 during the Obama administration. He said it tended to ebb during conservative presidencies, when fear of government overreach was less, but trended back up toward the end of the Trump administration.
Prosecutors have placed great emphasis on the “quick reaction force” that Rhodes and Caldwell helped organize on Jan. 6, and on a small arsenal of guns that they argue was at the ready in an Arlington hotel. As other Oath Keepers have testified, the group had similar armed groups ready at earlier protests, and Rhodes acknowledged having one in a van in Arlington for the Million MAGA March on Nov. 14, 2020.
“Antifa declared if Trump did not concede,” Rhodes said, “they were going to lay siege to the White House and drag him out … I was concerned this might actually happen.” It was not immediately clear what the basis for Rhodes’s claim about antifa was, but before the election, some conservatives had noted the Occupy Wall Street group used the word “siege” in promoting a White House protest.
Rhodes said if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act, and called on citizens to “assist in defense of the White House, we would be ready to do so.”
Prosecutors have shown the jury dozens of messages written by Rhodes and other Oath Keepers on the encrypted messaging app Signal. Rhodes said the group had been booted from Facebook, and then from Discord, so he joined Signal in 2018 or 2019. A new chat group was launched before each security operation, Rhodes said, and could not be deleted.
The jury was shown an announcement Rhodes issued before the Million MAGA March in November 2020, offering to provide security for speakers or other attendees who wanted it in Washington. Rhodes said for that event, as well as a Trump rally in December 2020 and the Jan. 6 riot, the Oath Keepers would “call in advance” to the D.C. police “and let them know they’re there and what they’re gonna be doing. And if Secret Service is in the area, let them know too.”
Rhodes’s lawyer, Phillip A. Linder, did not ask his client about claims by another Oath Keeper that Rhodes demanded members who were stationed outside the city drive into the District and spark conflicts with suspected antifa members. An Oath Keeper from North Carolina said Rhodes harshly criticized the North Carolina group for not responding to his call, and said they then split off from Rhodes’ group and formed their own militant group.