CREW requests Secret Service communications with Oath Keepers leading up to insurrection

Any communications the Secret Service had with the Oath Keepers—a far-right militia group that played a central role in the insurrection—ahead of January 6, 2021 should be made public. Recent reports indicate that a Secret Service agent was on multiple phone calls with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes in the days before the attack on the Capitol, but no records of such calls have been made public yet. Since January 6, several members of the Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the insurrection, with some pleading guilty and others facing trial in October 2022.

CREW has requested all Secret Service communications with Oath Keepers in the months leading up the insurrection, including members such as Stewart Rhodes and Wendy Rogers. 

The Secret Service’s preparation for and response to the events of January 6 has been the focus of significant investigation that has already revealed failures to adequately respond to threats of violence and apparent attempts to cover-up their actions afterwards, including deleting text messages. 

The revelation that the Secret Service was in direct contact with a paramilitary group that was pivotal to coordinating and executing the attack on the Capitol is just the latest indication that we still have much to learn about the plot to overturn the 2020 election. The Secret Service should be accountable to the public and reveal any conversations agents had with Oath Keepers.