– Washington A former member of the far-right Oath Keepers told a jury that he was taught to believe that the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, had the phone number of a U.S. Secret Service agent and had been in contact with that person in the months preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
John Zimmerman, a former member of the North Carolina chapter of the militia group and a military veteran, testified that Rhodes informed him of the alleged connection with the agent during a September 2020 phone call between Rhodes and the individual Zimmerman believed to be the Secret Service agent prior to a Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trump rally. Zimmerman, a government witness in the case, stated that Rhodes led him to believe he spoke with the agent about gun legislation in the D.C. area before to the demonstration, despite the fact that he could not hear the other end of the line.
Rhodes and four co-defendants – Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson, and Thomas Caldwell – are on trial for several crimes related from their alleged planning and participation in the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, including the high crime of seditious conspiracy. Each has entered a not-guilty plea.
The United States Secret Service stated in a statement that they are “aware” that Oath Keepers members had contacted them.
“No weapons of any sort are permitted inside Secret Service-protected sites or venues, regardless of organization affiliation,” the Secret Service stated in a statement. “At these areas, only armed law enforcement officers who actively participate in the security strategy are permitted to carry firearms. As part of our protective role, we will prepare a comprehensive security plan, including protocols for traffic and crowd control, for places where a protectee is due to appear. As part of this effort, it is fairly uncommon for a variety of groups to inquire about security constraints and permitted activities around our protected sites.”
The Secret Service is unaware of any charges of criminal misconduct within its ranks in relation to the Rhodes case, according to officials.
Prosecutors called Zimmerman, who said he was a member of the Oath Keepers group for approximately three months, to discuss the group’s planning and coordination for events in September and November of 2020, specifically a march in support of former President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., after the 2020 election.
Prior to the rally on November 14, 2020, the witness stated he joined Rhodes and other Oath Keepers in Calwell’s Virginia house to prepare their presence in the nation’s capital. Zimmerman stated that they were their route to Washington, D.C. to provide protective services and ready for a potential call to action from Trump, should the former president trigger the Insurrection Act.
The Oath Keepers, according to Zimmerman, transported more than a dozen firearms, including long guns and handguns, to just outside Washington, D.C., in the expectation that President Trump would invoke a decades-old law to take up arms against what Zimmerman termed a “rogue government” and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
But Trump’s request never came, and Zimmerman told the jury that the organization primarily offered personal security detail to high-profile protesters and was prepared to administer medical aid if necessary. He stated that they were especially on high alert for any violence perpetrated by their perceived political opponents, Anifa or Black Lives Matter members.
Zimmerman said that Rhodes’ goal to persuade these opponents to execute violent acts generated a schism inside the group, which ultimately led to Zimmerman’s departure from the Oath Keepers. Zimmerman stated that he viewed the North Carolina contingent as an extension of law enforcement and that he had no interest in participating in Rhodes’ attempt to incite violence.
The witness stated that he and other Oath Keepers were nonetheless prepared for bloodshed and Trump’s call to action.
“We would need the firearms if President Trump used the Insurrection Act,” he told prosecutors in court on Thursday, adding that his vehicle had “enough of room to transport weapons” from Caldwell’s Virginia property to just outside Washington, D.C., where gun rules are significantly stricter.
According to Zimmerman, Rhodes’ alleged call to the apparent Secret Service agent in September 2020, months before the rally in Washington, D.C., was motivated by concerns about gun laws. Zimmerman said the Oath Keepers group staged a “Quick Reactionary Force” (QRF) four to five miles away from where then-President Trump was scheduled to speak in case violence erupted. Zimmerman stated that the purpose of the call was to establish “boundaries.”
Officials have stated that firearms and weapons are not permitted within Secret Service-secured areas, but that places outside of a security zone near presidential events fall under the control of state and local authorities. What occurs outside a security zone is not dictated by the United States Secret Service.
On January 6, 2021, Zimmerman did not travel to Washington, D.C., but prosecutors allege that the Oath Keepers, including the five defendants on trial, staged an armed QRF in a Virginia hotel. They are suspected of amassing weapons and equipment, and according to authorities, Caldwell considered utilizing a boat on January 6 to transport the QRF into the city should Trump request their presence.
On January 6, seditious conspiracy accusations against the Oath Keepers began their trial. 05:34
William Wilson, another member of the North Carolina Oath Keepers, reportedly told prosecutors that on the evening of January 6, Rhodes repeatedly pleaded with an unidentified individual over the phone to “tell President Trump to call on groups like the Oath Keepers to forcibly oppose the transfer of power.”
During Thursday’s cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Zimmerman about the dissolution of the Oath Keepers and his decision to leave the group in an attempt to undermine the government’s claim that the group engaged in an organized conspiracy against the government on January 6.
“I enjoy Stewart Rhodes and Jessica. I love them all,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t like what they did, and I don’t like some of the experiences we’ve had.”
In the opening days of the weeks-long trial, prosecutors have accused Rhodes and his friends of plotting to smuggle weapons to the Washington, D.C. area in order to obstruct the peaceful transition of presidential power through force.
Rhodes allegedly stated the following in a call from November 9, 2020 that was played in court on Tuesday “You must be willing to travel to Washington, D.C. and engage in street combat with Antifa…
If a conflict arises, let it arise.” They allegedly planned to attend a Trump event on November 14, according to the FBI agent who testified.
This report was supplied by Nicole Sganga.