Jan 6 hearings: How Oath Keepers, Proud Boys have been linked to Donald Trump
- Members of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were part of the Jan 6 riots
- The Jan 6 committee has linked Trump to the right-wing groups
- Several members of the groups have already been charged by the Justice Department
The January 6 committee will address the involvement of far-right groups such as Proud Boys and Oath Keepers while probing the Capitol riots of 2021. The two groups have also been linked to former President Donald Trump, who has been blamed for inciting the violence.
Multiple members of the groups have already been charged with seditious conspiracy by the US Department of Justice after the January 6 attack. These members include Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
Also Read:Jan 6 committee reschedules hearing, braces for Steve Bannon’s testimony
The Oath Keepers connection
While gathered in a private suite at the Phoenix Park Hotel, an Oath Keeper member says he heard their leader, Stewart Rhodes, repeatedly urge the person on the phone to tell Trump to call upon militia groups to fight to keep the president in power.
“I just want to fight,” Rhodes said after hanging up with the person, who denied Rhodes’ appeal to speak directly to the president, court records say.
Federal prosecutors have not said who they believe Rhodes was speaking to on that call, which was detailed in court documents in the case of an Oath Keeper member who has pleaded guilty to the riot. An attorney for Rhodes says the call never happened.
Also Read: Donald Trump’s tweets before the January 6 riots: A timeline
The Proud Boys connection
Trump’s link to Proud Boys was established in the surprise hearing of the January 6 committee, which was organised late last month. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, told the committee she heard “Proud Boys” being mentioned as Trump prepared for the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on January 6. But no further details about that have been revealed.
A Proud Boys member told the January 6 committee that membership in the group skyrocketed after Trump refused to outright condemn the group during his first debate with Biden. Instead, Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”
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