In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, the FBI arrested two central Ohio residents. Court documents describe , both from Champaign County, as members of a militia group called the Oath Keepers.
ideastream's Matt Richmond explained what makes the group unique.
First of all, how do federal authorities tie Watkins and Crowl to this group? I assume they don鈥檛 publish membership lists.
No, they definitely don鈥檛. It鈥檚 mainly based on photos that were taken outside and inside the Capitol. There鈥檚 a patch that many Oath Keepers wear that says the name of the group on it. And then they also have another , with the slogan: 鈥淕uardians of the Republic. Not on our Watch.鈥�
Watkins identifies herself as the head of a local militia that鈥檚 called Ohio State Regulars. said that group is affiliated or there鈥檚 an overlap in membership between that group and the Oath Keepers.
Now there were lots of people at the storming of the Capitol, as well as a couple different extremist groups who were at the protest as well as inside the building on Jan. 6. What鈥檚 important about the Oath Keepers allegedly being there at the scene?
First of all, it鈥檚 to be the largest militia in the U.S., with about 3,000 dues-paying members. It鈥檚 not clear how many of those are from Ohio.
It鈥檚 also unique because from their founding in 2009, they鈥檝e been . One of the people arrested from Ohio was in the Marines. The guy who was identified (by law enforcement) as the ringleader is from Virginia and he鈥檚 ex-military.
And recently the federal government added to these three members, including the two who are from Ohio. So they鈥檙e saying that these Oath Keepers actually planned beforehand to go and storm the Capitol building.
Sam Jackson, a professor at the University at Albany, wrote a book about the group last year. One thing that surprised him was the Oath Keepers don鈥檛 usually advertise their presence at events like this. So, he said he was surprised to see this group wearing the patches and being so open about being Oath Keepers.
鈥淭hey would say ahead of time, 鈥榃e encourage you to go, but please don鈥檛 wear Oath Keepers gear or clothing or logos because that will just feed this biased, liberal, mainstream media narrative that attempts to demonize us,鈥欌�� Jackson said. 鈥淭hey were just blatant in terms of signifying some sort of affiliation with the group.鈥�
So, you said this group attempts to recruit former or current military or law enforcement. What do we know about their representation among law enforcement in Ohio?
That鈥檚 really hard to say.
The response from law enforcement here, from the Cleveland Division of Police and Cuyahoga County鈥檚 public safety department, is that they don鈥檛 know of anyone who was involved on Jan. 6. And if they find out anyone who was, then there would be discipline.
As far as rooting out people affiliated with the Oath Keepers or other anti-government groups before an arrest, it鈥檚 not clear that anything is being done.
Does this bring up any First Amendment issues? Can a government prevent employees from joining certain groups or fire them over their membership in them?
There is when it comes to law enforcement and the nature of that work.
And the Oath Keepers have pivoted a little.
鈥淯nder the Obama administration, one of their common themes was: We鈥檙e concerned that the federal government is going to declare martial law to violate the rights of everyday Americans,鈥� Sam Jackson from the University at Albany said. 鈥淎nd by 2020 we saw them saying: President Trump, please declare martial law to violate the rights of every day Americans in order to put down this alleged insurrection against you.鈥�
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