An ex-member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, white supremacist group, testified at Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes’ trial, that he believed that Rhodes knew someone in the secret service, and that Rhodes had been communicating with the agent months before the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
John Zimmerman, a former member of the militia’s North Carolina Chapter and an army veteran, said that Rhodes had confided in him about his secret service contact, and that he claimed he had spoken to the agent about former President Trump’s 2020 rally in Fayetteville.
A Secret Service spokesperson said that some people from the group had been contacting them in the past to make inquiries, saying that it is common for various groups to call them about security restrictions and permitted activities whenever they are in charge of security plans for an event, which usually includes traffic control and crowd management.
The statement said they were unaware of any criminal allegations against their members about the sedition case. They said that no one else is allowed to carry weapons into their protected zones apart from active police officers tasked with helping them with their security plans.
Stewart Rhodes and four other people are being tried for their alleged involvement and planning of the Capitol attack, with multiple charges, including seditious conspiracy.
Zimmerman informed the jury that before the demonstrations in November, he, Rhodes, and a few other group members had met at a house in Virginia where they planned the demonstrations at the US Capitol. According to him, they were there to protect demonstrators. They were also prepared for a potential call to action if former President Trump decided to call the Insurrection Act.
Zimmerman said that the group kept various firearms outside the city, hoping that Trump would instruct them to take up arms and fight to overturn the presidential election results.
Even though Trump never issued the order, the group provided security to high-profile protest participants. He said that the group was on the lookout for any potential violent acts from Antifa and Black Lives Matter group members.
Zimmerman told the court that Rhode’s extreme desire to start violence caused tension in the group, which is why he eventually left after being a member for three months. Zimmerman insisted that he did not want to be a part of a plan to incite violence.
Court documents show that another ex-member of the group, William Wilson, told authorities that on January 6, 2021, Rhodes repeatedly begged someone he was talking to on the phone to please tell Trump to invoke the insurrection Act, as the group was ready to fight to overthrow the incoming government.
The Secret Service has come under suspicion by many people about some of its members’ involvements in the January 6 attack. President Biden changed his security details amid concerns that some of the Secret Service agents were loyal to former president Trump.
