Stewart Rhodes Relaunched the Oath Keepers. Even Old Oath Keepers Don’t Care

announced Stuart Rhodes Last week, he relaunched the Oath Keepers, his anti-government militia that all but disappeared after dozens of its members — including Rhodes — were arrested for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Rhodes, who spoke to Critic’s Gateway this week, says he sees the relaunched group playing a role in combating what he calls a “leftist insurgency” on the streets of American cities. “Currently, under federal laws, President Trump can call in us as a militia if he deems it necessary, especially for three purposes: repelling invasions, suppressing insurrection, and enforcing federal laws,” Rhodes said.

But in the days since Rhodes announced their return, experts, former members and online chatter have indicated there is little interest in rebooting what was, at one time, one of America’s largest militias with a leaked database of 38,000 supposed members in 2021. That hasn’t stopped Rhodes from asking potential new members and supporters to send money to support the cause.

But even the former Oath Keepers aren’t interested. Janet Arroyo, who ran a chapter of the Oath Keepers in Chino Valley, Arizona, with her husband, Jim Arroyo, before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, says they haven’t heard from Rhodes in six years and have no plans to join his group.

“He has not communicated with me during his detention, nor since his release,” Arroyo says. “No hard feelings, but we do what we do and don’t spend a lot of time wondering what he’s up to. This stupid DC stunt has scared a lot of great patriots into hiding. I don’t think it’s going to work.”

Jessica Watkins, an Army veteran who was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for her role in the Capitol attack, says she hadn’t even heard about the relaunch when WIRED contacted her this week. “I haven’t heard about a relaunch, but most of the J6 members I know are trying to rebuild their lives,” says Watkins, adding that even if she wanted to rejoin, she wouldn’t be able to do so because her sentence was commuted rather than pardoned. “Criminals are not allowed to be in or work with the Oath Keepers.”

Kelly Meggs, who headed the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers and was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the attack on the Capitol, says he will not join the relaunched Oath Keepers because he worries he will be targeted again when Democrats return to power. “I’m more worried about the future,” Meggs says. “I think four or five years from now, or eight years from now, or 12 years from now, whatever the case may be, anyone who is a member of these organizations will be in danger of what I went through.”