Federal prosecutors have announced charges for nine members of the oath of office, including six who were recently arrested and charged Friday with conspiracy in the Riots of the Capitol. Seven of the group were part of a tactical “stack” of people dressed in combat gear pushed through the crowd to enter the Capitol, the government said.
The nine were charged by a grand jury on charges that include conspiracy, obstruction of an official process and limited charges for buildings or land.
Prosecutors say the group used military tactics – keeping each other on their backs to communicate as they entered the building – and coordinated with other Oath Keepers before and during the attack using apps like MeWe and Zello.
The six charged Friday are residents of Sandra Parker (60) and Bennie Parker (70) and residents of Florida Kelly Meggs (52), Connie Meggs (59) and Graydon Young (54) and Laura Steele (52) in North Carolina. Thomas Caldwell (65) Jessica Watkins (38) and Donovan Crowl (50) are also charged in Friday’s new indictment, although the three were already indicted by a large jury in January.
The charge of the oath is a collection of loosely organized militias, focusing on recruiting current and former military, law enforcers and first responders. The group believes the federal government “was co-opted by a shadowy conspiracy that seeks to strip US citizens of their rights,” prosecutors said, and the group’s name comes from the oath of military members and law enforcement around the Constitution “of all enemies, foreign and domestic. “
The complaint contains an email sent on January 4 from oathkeepers.org, with the subject line: “Call to action: oath-keepers going to DC on January 5-6 to protect events, speakers and participants: time to to stand! ” The email notes that the group would have ‘well-armed and well-equipped QRF teams on standby’, referring to the military acronym for ‘rapid reaction force’, in case of a ‘scenario’ where the president calls us as part of the militia to [sic] help him are DC. ‘
The email also states: “As always, we will exercise some of our men in ‘gray man’ mode without wearing identifiable oath-takers. For every oath-keeper you see, there are at least two that you do not wear. you can not see. “
Prosecutors said Steele sent a five-page document to the Oath Keepers of Florida on Jan. 3 that turned out to be an online application. In the document, she wrote: ‘I have 13 years of experience in law enforcement in North Carolina. A K-9 officer and a SWAT team member. I currently work for Private Armed Security [company name redacted]. I am a licensed PPS through the Private Protection Services of North Carolina. ‘
Seven members of the group, including Watkins and Crowl, were staying at the same hotel the night before the attack. In the days leading up to Jan. 6, Watkins, the self-proclaimed commander of the Ohio State Regular Militia, sent messages to people she described on her phone as recruits – including Bennie Parker. She advised Parker to pack khaki pants and on January 6 told him where to meet.
The group drew attention to their tactical “stack” formation, which experts quickly identified as a military strategy, and which was a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s call task.