The largest chapter of the Oath Keepers sharply criticized its national leader for the breach of the Capitol on January 6, when several Oath Keepers in military gear went through the building's doors. Oath Keepers national head, Stewart Rhodes, was present outside the Capitol and in communication with the group's members there that day, some of whom are targets of the FBI's investigation into the riot. The Oath Keepers is a 12-year-old organization whose members swear to uphold their oath to the U.S. Constitution and regularly bear arms and wear military gear in public; the FBI calls the group an anti-government militia movement. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on the Oath Keepers on the next edition of 60 Minutes, Sunday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
So far 13 members associated with the Oath Keepers have been arrested for the assault on the Capitol. One has pled guilty and agreed to help in the ongoing investigation. Their members wearing combat gear can be clearly seen in footage making their way through the crowd in a military "stack formation" and entering the Capitol doors when they were breached. The move piqued the ire of Jim Arroyo, vice president of the Arizona chapter of Oath Keepers.
"I want to congratulate Stewart Rhodes and his 10 militia buddies for winning first place in the ultimate dumbass contest, because that's what it was," Arroyo says. "That goes against everything we've ever taught, everything we believe in. It was pre-planned. It was pre-staged. Ten guys go and do something stupid and suddenly, we're the devil," he tells Alfonsi.