Oath Keepers

Key Points

• The Oath Keepers were an anti-government extremist organization formed in 2009 that quickly became one of the largest groups within the militia movement, which believes that the federal government has been co-opted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip Americans of their rights.
• Though the Oath Keepers accepted anyone as members, what differentiated them from other anti-government extremist groups was their explicit focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement and first responder personnel. 
• The group garnered national attention for their significant participation in the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Members of the group planned actions in advance, established a weapons arsenal near Washington, D.C., played a significant role in the breach of the Capitol on January 6 itself, and assaulted Capitol police and other law enforcement officers.
• Dozens of Oath Keepers were arrested in the wake of the attack, charged with various offenses up to and including seditious conspiracy. Over the next several years, at least 25 Oath Keepers received guilty verdicts for their roles in the Capitol storming.
• The arrests and convictions of the Oath Keepers involved in the Capitol storming resulted in a severe disruption in the group’s structure, effectively making the group defunct. Since their participation in the storming, the Oath Keepers have not engaged in any notable activity.
• Prior to the January 6 Capitol attack, the group gained notoriety for their armed participation in disputes between ranchers or miners and federal agencies, particularly in 2014 and 2015.
• Members of the Oath Keepers have been arrested in connection with a wide range of criminal activities independent of the U.S. Capitol attack.

Origins and membership

Founded in 2009 by former attorney and Army veteran Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers soon became a significant component of the militia movement, a far-right anti-government extremist movement whose adherents arm themselves in preparation to fight what they believe is a tyrannical, conspiracy-driven federal government. The Oath Keepers differentiated themselves from other militia groups through an explicit focus on recruiting current and former military members, police officers and first responders (though they would accept anyone as members) because they believed such personnel were critical in their fight to oppose ostensible conspiracies and tyranny.

Historically, the Oath Keepers closely guarded its membership data, but it was no secret that the group was large (though very loosely organized). In the past, the ADL estimated that there have been between 1,000 and 3,000 active Oath Keepers, which would have made them larger than most other groups in the militia movement.

However, in September 2021, the non-profit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) released more than 38,000 names from an Oath Keepers’ membership list. It is important to note that this number is not actually reflective of the total number of Oath Keepers at any one time, as the list only contains those individuals who had sent the group money at some point in time. Many listed members have left over the years, others joined but were never active and still others signed up without understanding the true nature of the group. Additionally, given the group’s lax organizational structure, it is also likely that there are people who have associated with the Oath Keepers without ever formally joining or paying dues.

An ADL analysis of the membership list published in September 2022 found 81 individuals across the country who at the time were either holding or running for public office at the state or local level; 373 individuals who were believed to be actively serving in law enforcement agencies across the country, including at least 10 police chiefs and 11 sheriffs; dozens of first responders, including firefighters and medical professionals; and 117 people serving in the military. Of note, the ADL estimated that one in 10 of the listed members had served in the military in some prior capacity.

Though the Oath Keepers targeted military, law enforcement and first responders for recruitment, they also accepted others as recruits. Teachers, business owners, religious figures and thousands of others also appeared on the membership list, illustrating the extent to which Oath Keepers’ anti-government messaging resonated with those beyond their target audience.

Oath Keepers’ Pledge

Believing that an ostensibly tyrannical government had planned to use law enforcement and the military against the American people, the Oath Keepers asked members and supporters to take a pledge to fight against such perceived despotism. The Oath Keeper’s Pledge, which hearkens back to the honorable vow of service taken by those in uniform, reminds Oath Keepers that they swore an oath to defend the Constitution “from all enemies, foreign and domestic.” By taking this pledge, Oath Keepers vow that they will refuse to cooperate with perceived government tyranny by declaring that there are certain “orders” from superiors that they will refuse to obey.

The list of “orders” that the Oath Keepers vow to refuse gives insight into their extreme conspiratorial mindset, because the “orders” are extremely unlikely to ever be issued by authorities; instead, they are reflective of anti‐government conspiracy theories embraced by the extreme right.

Orders Oath Keepers “refuse”:

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.
2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people.
3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.
4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.
5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.
6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control.”
9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.
10. We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

A gathering of Oath Keepers in 2015. (Image from Pennsylvania Oath Keepers’ now-defunct website)

Oath Keepers from the Pandemic to the U.S. Capitol Storming

The year 2020—which began with a deadly epidemic in the spring, moved into a summer of nationwide protests against police violence, and ended with a presidential election that the incumbent president refused to accept the outcome of—proved momentous for the Oath Keepers. The COVID-19 pandemic, which deeply affected many Americans, proved a boon for anti-government extremists, who spread conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and exploited frustrations about anti-pandemic measures such as lockdowns to expand their reach. Though the Oath Keepers initially accused the government of failing to implement adequate measures to stop the spread of the virus, the group pivoted towards anti-lockdown rhetoric, bringing them more in line with the stance of other militia groups. The Oath Keepers participated in lockdown protests, provided security to businesses that refused to follow state lockdown orders and framed the virus’ spread as being part of a “deep state” globalist plot.

That summer, the Oath Keepers exploited the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers to further their movement. As mass protests spread across the country, the Oath Keepers exploited the situation by alleging that the protests were part of a Marxist agenda to destroy the United States. Group members in various cities offered to “protect” local restaurants and businesses from alleged looters and arsonists, and in several cases, armed Oath Keepers showed up in front of businesses. The organization urged members to form security networks within their communities and to block neighborhoods with vehicles and armed men. Following a peaceful protest in El Paso, Texas, Oath Keepers claimed, without evidence, that it was their armed presence at the event that ostensibly served as a deterrent and prevented violence from breaking out.

During that same summer, the Oath Keepers accused Black Lives Matter (BLM) and antifa activists of taking part in an “open communist insurrection.” Following protest-related shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon, Rhodes called upon President Trump to federalize the National Guard to oppose BLM and antifa, threatening that if the government did not act, then the Oath Keepers would. Critically, Rhodes warned that “Civil war is here, right now” – sentiments that he would continue to express in the following months.

The Oath Keepers, like most other groups in the militia movement, had become ardent supporters of Donald Trump, which resulted in a decrease in rhetoric aimed at the federal government, especially as it pertained to and was personified by President Trump. Instead, the Oath Keepers frequently decried the “deep state,” an alleged network of institutions and bureaucracies within the federal government believed by a range of right-wing actors and groups to be actively undermining, and even attempting to destroy, the Trump administration. The “deep state” conspiracy helped create space for the Oath Keepers to address the dissonance created by their opposition to the federal government and their support for President Trump. They reframed events as a struggle between President Trump—who they perceived as trying to help the people—and a “deep state” that was continually seeking to thwart his efforts. Oath Keepers also often directed their ire at state governments, particularly those led by Democratic governors, as well as at the left and far left at large, including and especially antifa. Understanding these factors as part of their worldview helps to explain their extreme reactions towards and conspiratorial beliefs about the George Floyd protests.

Unsurprisingly, the Oath Keepers paid close attention to the 2020 presidential election campaign. Like large swathes of the right and far right, Oath Keepers believed and perpetuated claims that the elections would be rigged. As the election approached, many Oath Keepers were unwilling to accept any result other than a Trump victory.

On November 3—Election Day—Rhodes issued a declaration on the Oath Keepers’ website that an “honest election” could only result in a Trump victory and called for Oath Keepers to work as “undercover” poll watchers, stock up on ammunition and prepare for a “full-on war in the streets.” After President Biden was declared the victor, Rhodes and the Oath Keepers joined the “Stop the Steal” movement—which promoted election conspiracy theories that Trump had actually won the election—and called for Trump to refuse to concede. During speeches and in open letters shared in the following weeks, Rhodes urged President Trump to use the Oath Keepers "as the [statutory] militia," invoke the Insurrection Act, and declare martial law. Rhodes warned that if such steps were not taken, the Oath Keepers would have to fight in a “much more desperate, much more bloody war.”

As election deniers prepared to descend on Washington, D.C. for the “Save America” rally on January 6—the day Congress formally certifies the election results—Rhodes encouraged his followers to head to the Capitol to provide “security” for the scheduled events and to support President Trump's "fight to defeat the enemies" he believed were committing "massive vote fraud." At the same time, at least 18 Oath Keepers coordinated and planned to go to D.C. on or near January 6, recruiting members and affiliates to participate and organize into teams to transport firearms and ammunition to the area. Rhodes himself reportedly spent approximately $22,500 on military-grade assault weapons and equipment in the days leading up to January 6. When members arrived in the D.C. area in early January, they had paramilitary gear and supplies, including firearms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, and radio equipment. Because of D.C.’s strict gun laws, the Oath Keepers positioned a “quick reaction force” (QRF) of at least three teams in Arlington, Virginia, to transport gear and weapons to those on the ground at the Capitol if or when needed.

A group of Oath Keepers take part in the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. (Screenshot from MSNBC broadcast)

On January 6 itself, members of the Oath Keepers played a key role in the storming of the Capitol. Some members of the group dressed in military kits, used military stack formations to push through the mob and breached the Capitol, while others raced to the building in golf carts. Rhodes notably remained outside of the Capitol during the duration of the attack, but did coordinate with members by taking phone calls and messages. Immediately after the assault, Oath Keepers reveled in their perceived victory and bragged about their exploits.

However, as it became clear that their efforts did not stop the certification of electoral votes, Rhodes initially discussed plans to oppose the presidential inauguration on January 20. He also sought to obscure the roles he and the Oath Keepers had played in the Capitol storming. Believing that law enforcement was looking for him, Rhodes gave his phone, weapons and other equipment to other Oath Keepers and asked them to delete incriminating evidence of the group’s involvement in the Capitol attack. In the days after the riot, Rhodes reportedly spent an additional $17,000 on ammunition, firearm supplies, and survival gear. He told his followers to “sit tight” and “prepare yourselves, your gear, your teams, and above all your community” while he worked on his plan to keep Trump in office.

His efforts were for naught: in January 2022, Rhodes and ten other Oath Keepers were arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In total, at least 25 Oath Keepers have been picked up on charges related to the Capitol storming and received guilty verdicts. Nine Oath Keepers, including Stewart Rhodes, have been convicted or pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy; the sedition convictions were the first time that a jury concluded that the violence on January 6 was the result of an organized conspiracy. Rhodes was also found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, and he was sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in prison — among the lengthiest sentences received by a Capitol stormer.

The Oath Keepers Since January 6

The failure of Capitol stormers to achieve their goal, the notoriety and opprobrium the Oath Keepers garnered after the attack, and the subsequent prosecution and conviction of Rhodes and other core Oath Keepers leaders all combined to shatter the foundation of the group. The loose organization of the Oath Keepers meant that they faced significant organizational and leadership challenges to keep the group going, and since the Capitol storming, they have not engaged in any notable activity. Though membership spiked in November and December 2020 due to the organization’s and Rhodes’ media presence (especially within right-wing circles), after January 6, there were multiple financial complaints from people who sent in membership fees and received no further information, contact, or outreach afterwards. Bobby Kinch—a retired detective who served as the Oath Keepers’ state leader in Utah—claimed that “somebody ran away with all the money.”

Though the original Oath Keepers website was briefly taken down on January 11, 2021, it returned again for over a year before going offline once more in 2022. As of January 2025, it remains unavailable. This is not their only online limitation, as they have been removed from Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) and restricted on Amazon and PayPal.

Prior to the January 6 Capitol attack and the subsequent prosecutions, the Oath Keepers had a formal national leadership, but at the local level, many Oath Keepers were essentially self‐organized and formed official, semi‐official or informal groupings of Oath Keepers, often with overlapping geographic areas. Little remains of either their national or local structure.

The Oath Keepers’ leadership structure faced instability and organizational challenges in the aftermath of the Capitol attack. A letter published in 2022 on the Oath Keepers website explained that the organization’s Board of Directors were rattled by Rhodes’s arrest and that they and the “National Staff” were given the authority to run the organization. However, there was no real attempt to resurrect the group. Nominal leadership passed through the hands of multiple people. Kinch claimed Rhodes asked him to be on the Oath Keepers Board of Directors in June 2022 and that he was eventually promoted as president. However, Kinch himself soon left. As of early 2025, it is unclear if the group has any national leadership remaining.

The local Oath Keepers networks also largely collapsed. Some Oath Keepers chapters simply disappeared, while others rebranded, either as “independent” Oath Keepers, or as some other group altogether. The Indiana Oath Keepers, for example, announced they were no longer affiliated with the national organization. A chapter in Arizona dropped the Oath Keepers title altogether, renaming itself as the Yavapai County Preparedness Team, though they do still display the Oath Keeper logo on their website. The North Carolina branch began distancing themselves from the national organization in the weeks before January 6, but officially separated afterwards. Its leader condemned Oath Keepers’ participation in the Capitol breach.

In 2023, some remaining members of the Board of Directors and state leaders, led by Kinch, attempted a second take on the Oath Keepers theme, creating Oath Keepers USA. Even though Oath Keepers USA claims it is a “distinct and separate legal entity” from the original group, it seeks to continue the original Oath Keepers’ mission. Although Kinch claims Oath Keepers USA is not a militia, he admits they conduct firearms and medical training. The group has shown little public activity since its creation.

Rhetoric and Ideology

Since its inception, conspiratorial rhetoric has been the lifeblood of the Oath Keepers. The group has several conspiracy theories it repeatedly peddles as proof that their “constitutional republic” is being taken over and destroyed by evil forces. These beliefs, which encapsulate the one‐world government conspiracy theories that underpin the militia movement, stoke paranoia, fan the flames of anti‐government sentiment and give the group purpose.

One of the most prominent Oath Keeper theories is that the government will use a large-scale pandemic, natural disaster or terrorist attack as an excuse to impose martial law resulting in (but not limited to) door-to-door gun confiscation, the ban of interstate travel and detainment of citizens in concentration camps. To prove the imminent threat of martial law, Rhodes has often pointed to the World War II internment of Japanese Americans and to the short-lived gun confiscation by police and military members in the immediate chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (a federal court subsequently ordered New Orleans officials to return all confiscated firearms).

Given their fears of global governance, it is unsurprising that the Oath Keepers view the United Nations (UN) as a tool of the “New World Order” in its bid to undermine American sovereignty by imposing an authoritarian globalist agenda. The group has also long warned that voluntary UN sustainable development plans like Agenda 21 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be used to take away private property and civil liberties in the name of sustainability.

The Oath Keepers did not abandon their conspiracy theories during the first Trump administration, but instead adjusted them to fit the moment. Rather than maintaining that the federal government was being coopted by a shadowy global government, it claimed that the Democratic Party was a Marxist-Islamist organization seeking to overthrow the constitutional system and undermine Western Civilization itself. The group baselessly claimed that antifa was an arm of the Democratic Party, that illegal immigrants were part of a scheme to flood the United States with Democratic voters to put and keep the left in power, and that Democratic Party leaders supported gun-control legislation to make it easier to disarm and oppress the American people.

Like other militia groups, the Oath Keepers regard all gun control measures, no matter how mild, as schemes to remove the ability of American citizens to defend themselves and their communities from government tyranny. Rhodes has said the purpose of the Second Amendment is “to preserve the military capacity of the American people to resist tyranny and violations of their rights by oath breakers within government.” He insists the government wants to track and monitor gun owners as it does sex offenders, and that it exploits mass shooting incidents as an excuse to violate Second Amendment rights. Another Oath Keeper conspiracy theory claims the Veterans Administration is purposefully deeming veterans mentally unfit to legally disarm Americans with combat training, thereby paving the way for a foreign (New World Order) takeover.

During the Trump presidency, the Oath Keepers increasingly focused their conspiratorial rhetoric on the ostensible threat posed by the left. In September 2020, Twitter (later renamed to X) banned Oath Keeper-related accounts for violating the platform’s policies on violent extremist groups as part of the platform’s wider effort to limit the presence of militias on its platform. Though Twitter did not specify which posts violated their policies, at the time the Oath Keepers’ Twitter account had recently made a post claiming that a “Marxist rebellion” was trying to overthrow the government and urged President Trump to call the militia to federal service to suppress it. Militia groups, which are unauthorized paramilitary groups, frequently conflate themselves with the actual statutory militia, which today consists primarily of the National Guard.

A sign offering protection at a Trump rally in 2019. (Image from Oath Keepers’ X/Twitter)

Oath Keepers Activity Prior to January 6

Prior to their involvement in the Capitol storming, the Oath Keepers had long engaged in a wide array of activities across the country, many of which took advantage of their ability to provide an armed presence. The Oath Keepers utilized this presence to confront perceived enemies and gain attention in the media for itself and Stewart Rhodes. Calls for donations regularly accompanied almost all of the group’s publicized activities.

Armed confrontations with federal authorities during land disputes: Militia groups often seek to interpose themselves between government authorities—especially federal—and perceived “victims of government.”  The Oath Keepers frequently engaged in this type of activity, taking sides with ranchers or mining companies engaged in regulatory disputes with federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. In 2015, armed Oath Keepers took part in two such confrontations, showing up at the White Hope Mine in Lincoln, Montana, and the Sugar Pine Mine in Josephine County, Oregon. They, along with other anti-government extremists who showed up, hoped that their armed presence would prevent federal regulators from taking action. The Oath Keepers also joined scores of other anti-government extremists in a show of armed force to support Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy.  In 2014, Bundy was involved in a grazing dispute with the Bureau of Land Management: Bundy’s cattle had been illegally grazing on federal land, and the Bureau of Land Management sought to impound his cattle. The Oath Keepers and other militia extremists showed up to support Bundy and prevent the government from taking the cattle. The Oath Keepers eventually backed out of the confrontation, at some cost to their reputation, but the remaining activists did succeed in deterring any seizure of Bundy’s cattle.

Countering Black Lives Matter: Some of the Oath Keepers’ most notable mobilizations occurred in response to the BLM movement. As detailed above, the group offered and provided security for businesses and organizations during the 2020 BLM protests. This activity mirrors the Oath Keepers’ behavior in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, when a small of group of armed local Oath Keepers (led by Sam Andrews) took to the streets during the unrest that followed a grand jury’s decision not to charge a former police officer for the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Oath Keepers stationed themselves on rooftops and conducted street patrols, asserting that they were there to protect local businesses and reporters from angry protesters.

These incidents underscore the internal tension between the Oath Keepers’ anti‐government ideology and their focus on military and police personnel. In response to various controversial shootings by and of police since 2014, most Oath Keepers sided with local law enforcement against left-wing activist groups like BLM, though a minority of more anti-authoritarian members were less willing to express support for law enforcement. At the same time, Oath Keepers also organized or participated in several armed confrontations with law enforcement. Generally speaking, the Oath Keepers focused their confrontational tactics primarily against federal law enforcement agencies, while often siding with local law enforcement officers in other controversies, particularly when the opposing side included left-leaning activists.

Providing Security: The Oath Keepers also sometimes used their armed presence to provide ostensible — and sometimes unwanted — “security” for locations they believed were under threat. Following the July 2015 terrorist attack on two separate Tennessee military facilities by an Islamist extremist, the Oath Keepers launched “Operation Protect the Protectors.” During this short‐lived call for action, Oath Keepers (as well as others) armed themselves and stood guard outside various military recruitment centers around the nation under the pretense of guarding military recruiters. The Defense Department soon asked them to stop, saying they could create security risks and harm recruiting efforts.

The Oath Keepers also purported to offer armed security to individuals attending Trump rallies, “Free Speech” rallies and other pro-Trump events, claiming it was their mission to protect attendees from antifa or other Trump opponents. They also offered protection to individuals, including Ann Coulter at a UC Berkeley Free Speech event in 2017. In 2020, during the protests following the death of George Floyd, the Oath Keepers posted multiple calls to action in several cities seeking volunteers to protect monuments across the United States, claiming the monuments needed to be defended from Marxists seeking to destroy American history.

Community Preparedness Teams (CPT) and Post-Disaster Response: In October 2013, the Oath Keepers announced the formation of “civilization preservation cells” (later renamed Community Preparedness Teams), which Rhodes claimed were necessitated by the country’s impending (and possibly government-created) economic collapse. Beginning in 2015, various Oath Keeper captains held militia-like training sessions on topics such as weapons use, patrolling techniques, first aid, and emergency communications. During the first Trump administration, these activities were primarily focused on natural disaster management. The Oath Keepers also made several small attempts at providing disaster relief, including in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, hoping to use these efforts to garner positive press coverage. This aid included providing bottled water and food, clearing roads and helping with rescue missions. The Oath Keepers claimed to have provided disaster relief following five hurricanes.

Criminal Activity

In addition to those arrested as part of the January 6 prosecutions, a number of people associated with the Oath Keepers have been involved in other criminal incidents since its founding in 2009. Selected notable incidents include:

Peoria, Arizona, January 2016: Jon Ritzheimer, a former member of the Oath Keepers, voluntarily surrendered to local authorities after he played a prominent role in the 2016 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He subsequently pleaded guilty in August 2016 to a felony charge of federal conspiracy to impede federal workers, and in November 2017, Ritzheimer was sentenced to spend a year and a day in federal prison.

Greenwood, Delaware, February 2015: Oath Keeper Matthew Opaliski was charged with three counts of dealing firearms without a license and two counts of unlawful transfer of firearms after he sold, traded or gave firearms to a person who was not a Delaware resident. Opaliski pleaded guilty to one count of dealing firearms without a license and was sentenced in July 2016 to one year and one day in prison.

Brentwood, New Hampshire, February 2013: Federal authorities charged open carry activist and Oath Keeper Johnathon Irish with five felonies stemming from an investigation into the alleged sales of homemade assault rifles to undercover agents. As part of a December 2014 plea agreement, Irish admitted to lying to authorities. He also admitted to persuading his girlfriend to purchase assault rifle parts for him to avoid a background check. In return, prosecutors agreed not to re‐impose the other three charges against him which had been recently dropped. In February 2015, Irish was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Westfield, Massachusetts, March 2011: Oath Keeper David M. Phillips was arrested in Massachusetts on charges of possession of ammunition without the required Firearms Identification Card and four counts of possession of a large-capacity firearm feeding device. The charges followed a March 2011 vehicle stop by the Worcester Police Department due to an invalid license plate and driving with excessive speed. When questioned, Phillips told the officer that he was exempt from having to register or insure his vehicle. The officer towed the vehicle after a check revealed that the vehicle registration and insurance had been canceled. During an inventory search of the vehicle’s trunk, police found nine large‐capacity ammunition magazines along with 2,156 rounds of ammunition. Phillips was eventually convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Dallas, Georgia, and Madisonville, Tennessee, April 2010: Darren Huff, a Georgia militia member and Oath Keeper, traveled to Tennessee with an AK‐47 and a .45 caliber Colt handgun to make “citizens arrests” of government officials who had refused demands to indict President Obama. He was charged with carrying a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to use it for civil disorder, as well as a second count of using a firearm in relation to another felony. He eventually reached a plea deal on local charges against him, pleading no contest to one charge in exchange for the state dropping other charges. A federal jury convicted him on the carrying a firearm charge but acquitted him of using a firearm in relation to another felony. In May 2012, a federal judge in Knoxville sentenced Huff to four years in prison.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, April 2009: Daniel Knight Hayden, an Oath Keeper supporter, was arrested by the FBI after posting a series of Twitter messages threatening to attack Oklahoma officials (including police officers) on April 15 (Tax Day). He was subsequently convicted of knowingly transmitting a threatening communication and received an eight‐month sentence.