Jump to content

Oath Keepers: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
unsourced, please provide a source before re-inserting
Tag: section blanking
Line 17: Line 17:
# Any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.
# Any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.
# 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.
# 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.

===Constitutional basis===
The 10 points of the Oath Keepers Oath are based on fundamental language in the [[U.S. Constitution|United States Constitution]], including the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|2nd Amendment]], popularly known as the 'right to bear arms'. They also have basis in upholding the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|4th Amendment]], which protects the people from warrantless searches and seizures of their property, the [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|6th Amendment]], which guarantees a speedy trial, the right to confront witnesses and to have the assistance of counsel in a criminal trial, and the [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|10th Amendment]], which provides for states rights and sovereignty.


==Media coverage==
==Media coverage==

Revision as of 03:21, 14 January 2013

Oath Keepers is an American nonprofit organization[1] whose primary mission is to educate current U.S. military and law enforcement that their primary duty is to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to disregard any unlawful orders should they be mandated to do so.[2] The Oath Keepers' motto is "Not On Our Watch!", and their stated objective is to resist those actions taken by the U.S. Government that overstep Constitutional boundaries.[citation needed]

Organizational history

The Oath Keepers were founded on March 2009 by Stewart Rhodes and incorporated in Las Vegas, Nevada as a non-profit corporation.[3][4] Rhodes is a Yale Law School graduate, a former US Army paratrooper, and a former staffer of Congressman Ron Paul.[5] The Oath Keepers as a group have grown to include chapters in many states across America.[6]

List of refused orders

The Oath Keepers feel that their sworn oath to the American Constitution, grants them not only the right, but the duty to refuse unconstitutional orders. The Oath Keepers organization has published a list of orders that they will not obey:

  1. Orders to disarm the American people.
  2. Orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people.
  3. Orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.
  4. Orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.
  5. Orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.
  6. Any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
  7. Any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
  8. 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. Any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.
  10. 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.

Media coverage

In the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) 2009 report The Second Wave: Return of the Militias, Larry Keller, a writer for the SPLC, wrote that the Oath Keepers "may be a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival."[7] Keller described Richard Mack, an Oath Keeper, as a "longtime militia hero"[7]: 7 [8] and quoted him as having said, "The greatest threat we face today is not terrorists; it is our federal government… One of the best and easiest solutions is to depend on local officials, especially the sheriff, to stand against federal intervention and federal criminality."[7]: 7  Mack, a former sheriff, responded by denouncing the SPLC's claims.[9][10] Rhodes, the founder has countered the SPLC claim of racism by pointing out that he's one quarter Mexican and part Native American.[11]

Rhodes has appeared on several TV and radio shows to discuss Oath Keepers.[1] Lou Dobbs talked with Rhodes on his radio show and criticized the SPLC for "perpetuating the same kind of intolerance it claims to condemn."[1] On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Matthews and Rhodes discussed both the SPLC report and issues involving the Oath Keepers and extremists.[6]

MSNBC's political commentator, Patrick J. Buchanan, quoted Alan Maimon in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, as saying "Oath Keepers, depending on where one stands, are either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia.” Mr. Buchanan explained their existence on the alienation of white America, concluding that "America was once their country. They sense they are losing it. And they are right." [12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Maimon, Alan (October 25, 2009). "Ready To Defend: Oath Keepers speak out at inaugural conference". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  2. ^ Justine Sharrock (March/April 2010). "Oath Keepers and the Age of Treason". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2010-02-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Acosta, Jim (November 18, 2009). "Who are the Oathkeepers". CNN. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  4. ^ "Incorporation Information for the Oath Keepers, Inc". Nevada Secretary of State. Vol. E0559982009-3. State of Nevada. October 22, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  5. ^ Maimon, Alan (October 18, 2009). "Ready To Revolt: Oath Keepers pledges to prevent dictatorship in United States". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Nugent, Karen (October 23, 2009). "Ready to Protect: Former Bolton Chief Focuses On Constitution". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Keller, Larry (2009). "The Second Wave: Return of the Militias" (PDF). A Special Report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery, Alabama: pp. 5–10. Retrieved November 2, 2009. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Fausset, Richard (September 18, 2009). "Oath Keepers organizer sees need to sound an alarm". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  9. ^ "Sheriff Richard Mack (RET) Responds to Southern Poverty Law Center Smear Attack on Oath Keepers and on Sheriff Mack" (Press release). Oath Keepers. August 14, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  10. ^ Johnson, Jon (September 2, 2009). "Local man appears on Internet news show". Eastern Arizona Courier. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  11. ^ Radley Balko (7 February 2011), An Interview With Stewart Rhodes, Reason
  12. ^ Patrick J. Buchanan (October 20, 2009). "Alienated and Radicalized". MSNBC.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oath_Keepers&oldid=532969678"