SENSITIVEBUT UNCLASSIFED

lntelligenceAdvisor y2010- 01

TITLE:

(SBU)The Oath Keepers

N o v e m b e2r4 , 2 0 A g

DISTRIBUTION:

TIGTA Officeof lnvestigations

ExecutiveStaff
TIGTASAC, ContractFraudand CriminalIntelligence
Division
TIGTAFieldSACs
TIGTAFieldASACs

CONTACT:

ResearchSpecialist
NikkiN. Rawls,lntelligence
Criminal Intelligence/Countefterrorism
ContractFraudand CriminalIntelligenceDivision
(202) e27-7185

UNCLASSIFIED//LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE:This information is

the property of the Treasury InspectorGeneralfor Tax Administration
(TIGTA)and may not be distributedwithout TIGTA authorization.
Precautionsshould be taken to ensure this information is stored andior
destroyed in a manner that precludesunauthorizedaccess.

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fNTRODUCTION: TheOathKeepersarea rapidly

growing
non-parlisan
group
comprised
of currentandformermilitary
personnel
andlawenforcement
officers.
M e m b e rso f th i so rga n i zation
havevowedto upholdthe Constitution
againstal l
enemies,foreignand domestic.Membershavepledgedan oath to th6
Constitution, notto the Presidentof the UnitedStates.When membersof this
organization taketheiroath,they recitean amendedversionof the Constitution
thatexcludesthe followingstatement:"l will obeythe ordersof the presidentof
the UnitedStates".Membersof the Oath Keeperswho are activemembersof
the militaryand law enforcement havepledgedto disobeycertainhypothetical
"orders", suchas "to put Americancitizensin deteniioncamps',and-,ito
disarm
the Americanpeople".

MEMBERSHIP:Thisorganization was established

by StewartRhodes,in March
2CI09.StewartRhodesresidesin Las Vegas,Nevada,and is a formerUnited
StatesArmy paratrooperand firearmsinstructor.He was also a formerstaff
rnemberfor Congressman Ron Paul. Rhodesgraduated from Yale University
(Schoolof Law)and currentlywritesa column(Enemyai the Gate)for the law
enforcement publication,
specialweaponsand ractics(s.w.A.T). stewart
Rhodes is not of recordwith TIGTA.

Membersbelievein the longstanding theoriesembracedby anti-government

extremistsand claimthatthe UnitedStatesGovernment is creatinga police
state. Therefore,according to the group'swebsite(www.oathKeepers.org),
memberswill not obeythe orders established by the unitedstates
Government, if they believeit violatesthe rightsof the Americanpeople.

T h e g rou pha s 1 0 O rd e rsth e yadher eto as m em ber s:

"wlLL Nor conductwarrantlesssearchesof Americanpeople,their

homes,vehicles,papers,or effects.For example:houseto house
searchesfor weaponsor persons."
'WILL
NOT detainAmericancitizensas 'unlawfulenemvcombatants'
or to
subjectthem to trialby militarytribunal"
'wlLL
Nor imposemartiallaw or a "stateof emergency" on any state,
withoutthe expressconsentand invitation
of that state'slegislatureand
governor."

"WILLNOT invadeor subjugateany statethatassertsit sovereignty and

declaresthe nationalgovernmentto be in violationof the compactbv
whichthe stateenteredthe Union."

"WfLL NOT obeyany orderto blockadeAmericancities,thus turningthem

intogiantconcentration
camps."

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"WILL NOT obeyany orderto forceAmericancitizensintoanv form of

detentioncampsunder.anypretext."

"WILLNOT obeyordersto assistor supportthe useof any foreigntroops

on U.s. soii againstthe Americanpeopleto "keepthe peace"or-to
maintaincontrol"duringany emergency,or underany otherpretext.we
will considersuchuse of foreigntroopsagainstour peopleto be an
invasionand act of war."

"WILLNOT obeyordersto confiscate the propertyof the Americanpeopte,

includingfood and otheressentialsupplies,underany emergencypretext
whatsoever."

"WILLNOT obeyany orderswhichinfringeon the rightof the peopleto

free speech,to peaceablyassemble,and to petitiontheirgovernment
for a
redressfor qrievances."

The organization's mottois "Not on our Watch".Accordingto StewartRhooes,

as repofiedby the LasVegasReviewJournal,the missionof the Oath Keepers
is to stopa dictatorship
fromoccurringin the UnitedStates.

On October24,2009,the Oath Keepersheldtheirfirstinauguralcelebration

in
LasVegas,Nevada.Accordingto the Anti-Defamation League,approximately
1 0 0pe o p l ea tte n d e d .

Accordingto opensources,the OathKeepersdo not havecriteriaforjoining;

however,activememberstargetcurrent,retiredand formerlaw enforcement
officersand rnilitarypersonnel.They appealto thisaudienceby remindingthem
theysworean oathto defendthe Constitution "fromall enemies,foreignand
domestic",and suggesting that now is the time to liveup to the oath by resisting
an allegedlytyrannicalgovernment.

The oath Keepershavemembersin the followingareas: Montana,Nevada,

Texas,fllinois,Louisiana,
Arkansas,Northcarolina,Massachusetts,
Arizona,
and lowa. Accordingto the Las VegasReviewJournal,the oath Keepers

Accordingto the Las VegasReviewJournal,the grouphasgrownto

approximately 2,000dues-paying members.Somemembershavejoined
anonymously becausethey are currentlaw enforcement officersor activemilitary
personnel,and fear disciplinary
actionsfrom theirrespectiveorganizations.
Accordingto the Las VegasReviewJournal,the LasVegasMetropolitan Police
Department (Lt. KevinMacMahill)is awareof the OathKeepers,and it is
speculatedthat severalofficersof the Las Vegas PoliceDepartrnentare

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membersof thisorganization.As a resultof the widespread anonymity,it is

difficultto confirmeach member'saffiliation
or locatea valid*erb"rrhip roster.

The LasVegasReviewJournalhas reportedthe followingindividualsas active

boardmembers:P. JeffreyBlack(FederalLaw enforcement liaison),Navy
Commander DavidGillie(NavyLiaison)and DavidFreeman(peaceOfficer
liaison).

The oath Keepershavesevenstate Directors, of whomthreehavebeen

i d e nti fi ed
Mo; n ta n a(F ran kl i n
Shook,aka:EliasAlias)Tennessee
, ( Ar m yRet
sgt Randcardwell)and Massachusetts (Retiredchief fromBolton
Massachusetts PoliceDepartment, CeliaS. Hyde).

According to formerArizonaSheriffRichardMack(an activeOath Keeper

member),the Sheriffis the most power-fullaw enforcement
cfficer-,
and has the
ultimatesay in his/hercounty SheriffMackbelievesneitherthe Presidentof the
UnitedStatesar any Departmentbeneaththe Presidenthas authoritvovera
Sheriff.He alsostatedthat he praysfor the day whena Sheriffarrests
InternalRevenueServices(lRS)Agentfor tryingto victimize "nin a
the citizens
Sheriff'scounty,

T H R E EP E R C E N T E R SWi
: thinthe OathKeeper s, ther em aybe an unconfir med
allianceof gun ownersknownas "Threepercenters".Accordingto the Anti-
Defamation League,this organization formedin late2O0B; theyare an organized
movementcenteredon an obscureideologythat claimedonlythreepercentof
the Americanpopulationparlicipated as combatantsin the Revolutionary War.
The groupassertsthat they are a moderncounterpartto that mythicaltfrree
percentof AmericanRevolutionary era patriots,and alsorepresentthe three
percentof the populationof Americangun owners"whowillnot disarm".Three
Percenters todayare gun ownerswho will not disarm,willnot compromise, and
will no longersupportthe passageof the nextGun controlAct. Three
Percenters claimthat they will not obeyany furtherlimitations of theirtraditional
tiberties andwilldefendthemselvesif attacked.Theyarewillingto fight,die and
if forcedby any oppressor,kill in the defenseof themselves and the Constitution.
Belowis the Doctrineof the ThreePercenters:

We willnot disarm.
You cannotconvinceus.
You cannotintimidateus.
You cantry to kill us, if you thinkyou can.
But remember,we'llshootback.
And we are not goingaway.
Yourmove

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According
theAnti-Defamation
League,activemilitarypersonnel
in lraqare
wearingpatches
to symbolize
theirsupporlof the OathKeepers
as welias the
ThreePercenters.
StewartRhodeshaswritten thattheOathKeepers patch
wornby activemilitarypersonnelin lraq is notauthenticparaphernalia createdby
ihe organization. As a result,the oath Keepersare planningto sendcare
packagesthat include"official"oath Keeperspatchesand nVns to ,,tensof
thousands" of aciivedutytroopsbetweenNovember11,20ag(VeteransDay),
a n d D ece mbe1r 5 ,2 0 0 9(B i l lof RightsDay)

It is unconfirmed if the ThreePercenters are a groupwithinthe OathKeepers,

but Rhodeshaswrittensupporlively of them. Two membersparlicipated in an
o a t h K e e p e reve n tat the V i e tnamwar M em or ial in washington, D.c.,on
s e p te mbe r12 ,2 a a gth ; e yca r r iedthe Thr eeper center s'
Flag. The eventwas
stagedon the sameday as an anti-government Tea Partyrallythat attractedtens
of thousandsof people.

ANALYSIS: The Deparlmentof Homelandsecurityconsidersa groupthat

rejectsfederalauthorityin favorof localauthorityas "rightwing enremists".This
is accordingto an April7, 2009,"threatanalysis"releasedby the agency.
To date,the oath Keepersdo not appearviolent.However,the grouprras
membersthat are anti-government and/oranti-tax,whichcan promotethe
potentialfor violence.They buildtheirorganization on the ideologyof false
conspiracy, by upholding the Constitution for the AmericanPeople.Accordingto
the SouthernPovertyLaw Center,this kindof conspiracy-theory is whatdrivesa
s m a l lnu mbe ro f p e o p l eto cri m inalviolence.Additionally,the m en andwom enof
the Oath Keepersare armedand trainedin firearmsuse, by virtueof their law
enforcement and militaryprofessions.

The Oath Keepersdo not appearto be a directthreatto the TreasuryInspector

Generalfor Tax Administration (TIGTA)or the InternalRevenueService(lRS)at
thistime; however,we shouldremainvigilantof them. Theyare an organization
that is quicklygainingnotorietyamonglaw enforcement officersand m-ititary
personnelwho are anti-government. Contraryto StewartRhodes'statemenrs
that his organizationis not anti-governmentand not anti-tax,some of the
membersappearto be. As found on ihe organization's website,
wvwv.Oathkeepers.orq, some membershaveexpressedtheirdislikeof president
obama and comparedAmericanow,to AdolfHifler'sGermany.one member
was videotapedcallingPresidentObamathe domesticenemyof the Constitution.

Accordingto Rhodes,it is not the group'spositionto overturnthe governmentor

promoteviolence,but the Oath Keepersis comprisedof activememberswho are
anti-govern
mentand/oranti-tax.

I n A p r il20 0 9 ,an O kl a h o maman ( DanielKnight)who claim edm em ber ship

with
the Oath Keeperswas arrestedfor threateningviolenceat an anti-taxprotestin

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O k lah o ma.A cco rdi ng

to S tewar Rhodes,
l howeverthis
, m an is not a m em be of
r
the Oath Keepers.

F
I . ,I.JI
'r.,i1ft-:
F
f"
N
!l

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

OathKeeper
Montana (Elias
StateDirector Alias.AKA:Fr anklinShook)

by active military personnelsymbolizingthe "Three

Percenters".

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oath KeepersMassachusetts
state Director(celiaHyde)

Tennesseestate Director,RetiredArmy sergeantRand cardwell

R EF ER E N C E S :

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

iraql

:/ i .com/ revent-dicta
states-64690232.htm1

i l vchron i cl e.com i 2009lABl23ln alias.txt

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