Oath Keeper Founder Calls Members ‘Stupid’ for Capitol Breach

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told jurors at his seditious conspiracy trial that it was “stupid” for members of his right-wing group to join Donald Trump supporters who broke into the US Capitol last year to protest the presidential election.

“My goal was to make sure nobody got wrapped up in that,” Rhodes said Monday in a Washington courtroom. He claimed the group’s “mission” on Jan. 6, 2021, was to provide security at Trump events and speakers. Trespassing at the building “opened the door for our political enemies to persecute us,” he said.

After taking the stand in his own ...