US Secret Service agents MET with Oath Keepers members before January 6 rally to discuss the items they would bring – but agency insists it was part of routine intelligence gathering activities
- Secret Service members reportedly met with members of the Oath Keepers militia before their involvement in the January 6 Capitol Riot
- Members of the militia were charged with seditious conspiracy at the riot, and apparently contacted the agency about which weapons are allowed
- ‘We are aware that individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries,’ said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi
- Stewart Rhodes, leader of the militia, allegedly had a good relationship with the agency
Secret Service agents were reportedly in contact with Oath Keeper militia members prior to their involvement in the January 6 Capitol Riot, and even met with some of them.
An official with the agency said the militia members would occasionally reach out to the Secret Service to inquire about which items were allowed at rallies.
When the agents learned the group was planning rallies, they reached out to meet with members, which is common practice with groups that plan events.
Links between the group and the agency came under renewed scrutiny as their leader, Stewart Rhodes, claimed he was in touch with agents.
Rhodes allegedly sent texts to other members claiming that if they were called upon to fight by former President Donald Trump,1 the Secret Service would be ‘happy’ to help, according to evidence provided in court.
Members of the Oath Keepers stand on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The militia reportedly was in contact with the Secret Service prior to the rally
Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, reportedly said the Secret Service would be ‘happy’ to help if former President Donald Trump asked them to act as a militia
Testimonies from the congressional inquiry into the riot and subsequent federal investigations revealed multiple links between federal agencies and various militias
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C
‘We are aware that individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said
‘We are aware that individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told CNN.
‘If he calls us up as a militia I think the secret service would be happy to have us out there,’ Rhodes wrote according to prosecutors. He claimed there were positive contacts between the agency and the militia.
Another former Oath Keeper leader, John Zimmerman, testified he believes Rhodes was in touch with the agency as far back as the lead-up to the 2020 election.
Zimmerman said Rhodes was in contact to discern which weapons they would be allowed to carry, and repeatedly told him he was in touch with agents.
Though Zimmerman has not yet been charged with a crime, he claimed Oath Keeper members who were charged for seditious conspiracy in the riot gathered in North Carolina while he was a leader there.
Testimonies from the congressional inquiry into the riot and subsequent federal investigations revealed multiple links between federal agencies and the militias and groups that attended the gathering.
The news comes as new videos show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer frantically calling elected officials and military leaders to get help while lawmakers were hiding in a secure location.
‘Why don’t you get the president to tell them to leave the Capitol, Mr. Attorney General, in your law enforcement responsibility?’ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can be heard asking
A pro-Trump mob enters the U.S. Capitol Building during the riot
The video compilation shows Pelosi calling Virginia Governor Ralph Northam begging for National Guard support while watching Donald Trump‘s supporters breaking into the Capitol on TV.
‘It’s just horrendous, and all at the instigation of the President of the United States,’ Pelosi said in the video.
It’s the first time video has been shown of the frantic hours in which lawmakers hid in undisclosed locations while police were grappling with the mob.
The new, disturbing footage came at the end of the hearing where the panel voted unanimously 9-0 to subpoena Trump to give testimony under oath and hand over documents related to the Capitol riot.