Van Tatenhove spent years as a senior spokesman and close associate of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who faces charges of conspiracy to riot in connection with the violence. The former insider was perhaps a risky choice of witness since he had left the group around 2018 and apparently had no unique knowledge of her actions prior to the attack. 5 takeaways from the Jan. 6 hearing on extremism and Trump Instead, Van Tatenhove’s role was to present the apocalyptic worldview that underpins far-right movements like the Oath Keepers, which he said were dreaming and training for the kind of high-profile insurgency that unfolded in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency. His grim warnings about the possibility of future violence also underscored the House committee’s central theme that January 6 was not a single event, but part of an extremist agenda to undermine public trust in democratic institutions and make politics violence more palatable. “I think we were extremely fortunate that there wasn’t more bloodshed because the potential was there from the beginning,” Van Tatenhove told lawmakers. Tuesday’s hearing revealed little new information about the key extremist movements involved in the attack on Capitol Hill, but underscored how Trump’s rhetoric about “doing battle” with political opponents on a “wild” day was immediately taken as an order to mobilize. Van Tatenhove spoke alongside another witness, Jan. 6 rioter Stephen Ayres, who testified that he and other Trump supporters acted immediately in response to the president’s tweets. Committee members described Trump’s posts as a call to action for his millions of followers, even “a call to arms.” Twitter went easy on Trump because it ‘enjoyed’ power, ex-employee says The opening statement by Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) portrayed the extremist organization as one of three circles of attack that day, along with political maneuvering inside the White House and the “large and angry” crowd gathered outside. The middle ring, Raskin said, was where “members of domestic violent extremist groups formed an alliance both online and in person to coordinate a massive effort to invade, invade and take over the Capitol.” Sam Jackson, an assistant professor at the University at Albany who wrote a 2020 book on the Oathkeepers, called The committee’s presentation is “compelling,” but he said he is willing to hear more details about the planning of extremist groups involved in advance, particularly coordination between rival extremist groups and any potential ties to members of the Trump administration. Bringing Downing the Oath Keepers, Jackson said, “is not a silver bullet that solves the problem of domestic extremism.” While some violent actors may be intimidated by federal government prosecution those who took part in the siege of the Capitol, the danger to more unrest remains high because state and local politicians openly parrot far-right talking points and demonize democratic institutions and political opponents, he said. “We shouldn’t focus on the Oath Keepers as an organization,” Jackson said. “We should recognize them as a specific example of a wider phenomenon. So even if Oath Keepers is Stuart Rhodes, and even if Stuart Rhodes is convicted of conspiracy and spends 20 years in prison, there are other actors out there who aren’t going to be deterred by that.” Oath Keepers founder Stuart Rhodes to remain in prison awaiting trial on seditious conspiracy charge Van Tatenhove told the committee he first became associated with the Oath Keepers during high-profile confrontations with the federal government. He spent about three years promoting the group before becoming concerned as he witnessed an embrace by white nationalists and other “plain racists.” Van Tatenhove said he eventually broke with Rhodes after hearing senior Oath Keepers deny the Holocaust. The denigration of the “other side” that is now common in this polarized political environment has long been ingrained in Oath Keepers, Van Tatenhove said. He testified that he once rejected a request by Rhodes to create a deck of Democratic enemy playing cards, such as those released by the Pentagon that show high-value targets in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Rhodes wanted Hillary Clinton to be the queen of hearts, Van Tatenhove said. Van Tatenhove summed up the group as a vanity project for Rhodes, who he said envisions himself as a strong paramilitary leader, a description that resonates with other former members who say that, for all his bravado, Rhodes commanded few real forces. However, Van Tatenhove stressed, the group should be considered dangerous because of its ability to widely spread violent messages and radicalize its followers. And he said thinly veiled tweets like Trump’s essentially “signaled” to Rhodes and his ilk that it was time to act.
The uprising of January 6
The House select committee investigating the 6 January 2021 riot held a series of high-profile hearings in June. The committee The next public hearing is scheduled for July 12. Congressional Hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol held a series of hearings to share its findings with the US public. The sixth hearing included explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide. Will there be charges? The committee could bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview. What we know about what Trump did on January 6th: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the commission and shared what she saw and heard on Jan. 6. The Riot: On January 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Five people died that day or soon after, and 140 police officers were attacked. Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to breaking into the building’s inner sanctums while lawmakers were still there, including former Vice President Mike Pence. The Washington Post reviewed text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on January 6.
