Militia members use at least one revenue stream through Amazon’s charity partnership program, Amazon Smile. As of Tuesday night, Amazon buyers can choose to donate 0.5% of their purchase cost to the Indiana chapter of the armed anti-government group Oath Keepers, of which one was a member just charged with conspiracy related to the Capitol attack.
The group Sleeping Giants, which flags the online promotion for far-right groups, spotted the connection today. Amazon Smile is listed as a subsidiary on the Indiana Oath Keepers website.
Several other charities referred to by Oath Keepers and other far-right groups are also listed as participants in the Amazon Smile program, but we were unable to confirm the details of these accounts before they were published.
This morning the Washington Post report that a 66-year-old allegedly a Eedwagter member became the first to be charged with conspiracy in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol. FBI documents, including personal communications, indicate that heemptied to organize 30-40 followers to coordinate a siege. One message among the group called for an “arrest of the citizen” by lawmakers.
The oath-keepers, who count law enforcement among their ranks was a mainstay in armed protests over the years along with travelers like Boogaloo Bois and the Three Percenters. They too self-promoted at climate disaster sites.
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It’s not clear how Indiana Oath Keepers uses funds raised by Amazon Smile. However, this is probably not relevant. Amazon Smile Terms specifically prohibited groups that involve, support, encourage or promote ‘intolerance, hatred, terrorism’ and ‘violence’.
Amazon has not yet responded to a request for comment. The Indiana Oath Keepers and OathKeepers.org also did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the UK-based inquiry into Democracy opened found that Amazon has offered more than 40 anti-hate evangelism groups against LGBTQ and anti-abortion. These include the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which has reportedly spent more than $ 96 million since 2008 international campaigns to block access to abortions and suppress LGBTQ rights; the Trump-affiliated U.S. Center for Law and Justice, which provided legal arguments for the ban on abortion in Poland; and the Indiana Chapter of the American Family Association, designated a Southern Poverty Law Center hate group which gave the Nazis guilt over homosexuality. At this writing, none of the 40+ groups surveyed, and Amazon warned, have been removed.
An Amazon spokesman said in an email last month that charities that violated the qualifications, including the promotion of illegal activities, would no longer be able to participate in the Smile program. It added that Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Management and the SPLC “to provide the data for these terms.” The SPLC has designated the Oath Watchers as an extremist group that has a long profile.
Commendable, Amazon stood his policy prohibit violent content by recalling hosting services for Parler. After Parler filed a motion for Amazon Web Services to reinstate the site, Amazon filed a list of abominable example posts, including death threats associated with racial barriers. Amazon said Parler had already approached in November 2020 about the failure to moderate unbridled hate speech.
The Indiana Oath Keepers website also advises visitors to select them as beneficiaries for Kroger’s community rewards program, where it can no longer be found. The supermarket chain said in an email that it was “upset” to learn that Oath Keepers took advantage of the program and listed it immediately.