Members of far-right group Oath Keepers allegedly exchanged messages about the safety of Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson – who was also Donald Trump’s former White House doctor – during the chaos of the U.S. Capitol riots. United.
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The messages, one of which said Jackson should be protected because he has “critical data,” were part of a batch of recently posted messages from members of the alleged conspirators on January 6, 2021, according to a new court document from one of the defendants.
The person in charge of the accused oath, Edward Vallejo, of Arizona, is requesting release from pretrial detention and filed a lengthy lawsuit before a court hearing on April 29 on his petition. The 337-page presentation includes dozens of pages of messages allegedly exchanged by members of the Oath Keepers in the days before January 6, 2021, and during the peak of that day’s violence.
Exchanges of messages include a series of comments, instructions and responses from Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who along with Vallejo is part of a group of members of the far-right organization accused of seditious conspiracy and will face trial later this year.
According to some of the messages included in Vallejo’s court record, a member of the group expressed concern about Jackson’s safety during the siege of the Capitol. Rhodes replied, “Give him my cell phone.”
According to another message in the court file, a member of the group wrote, “Dr. Ronnie Jackson, on the move. He needs protection. If anyone covers him. He has critical data to protect.”
References to Jackson are just a fraction of the hundreds of messages sent among members of the Oath Keepers, according to the court file.
In another, dated January 2, 2021, an alleged member of the Oath Keepers writes that the group is in Washington to provide a personal security detail for Trump’s longtime ally, Roger Stone. They also allegedly talked about “backup” security for Trump’s former national security adviser, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn (ret.) In text messages dated December 31, 2020, around ‘time when Flynn was said to be pushing the former president to declare martial law and seize voting machines.
In a series of messages, including the morning of January 6, members of the group talked about the preparations for a “QRF”, a so-called rapid reaction force that put weapons and other supplies outside the city limits of Washington , DC. In a court statement, Rhodes allegedly wrote: “We will have several well-equipped QRFs outside of DC. And there are many, many more, from other groups, who will be watching and waiting outside in worst case scenario.
In a morning message on January 6, a member of the group wrote, “Game Day.”
Vallejo’s defense team argued in court documents that “he was not considered part of any ‘Rapid Reaction Force'” until after he arrived in Washington. He is also not accused of entering the Capitol building.
In other messages, members of the group discuss the District of Columbia’s arms bans, deliberating on the permitted length of the blades, the use of livestock daggers, chemical spray and flagpoles as weapons.
Messages included in Vallejo’s court record also indicate that members of the group were transmitting information about police movements during the attack and continued to monitor the activity of members of Congress at 7 p.m., Jan. 6, after s ‘would have enacted a curfew. A message from Rhodes allegedly read, “Look, I WAS THERE. I WAS OUT. The patriots came in. No Antifa. And I don’t blame them. They were rightly angry.” Rhodes is not charged with entering the Capitol building during the attack.
In other messages included in Vallejo’s motion, members of the group question the authenticity of Trump’s social media video urging the crowd to “go home.”
“Sir, our commander-in-chief has just ordered us to return home,” Vallejo sent on the afternoon of January 6, according to documents. “POTUS said we’re very sweet. Please go home. The weirdest pre-recorded message I’ve ever heard,” another group member seemed to respond.
A participant believed to be accused, Oath Keepers conspirator Kelly Meggs, wrote in another exchange trying to contact Proud Boys accused leader Enrique Tarrio before the Capitol attack. after learning of Tarrio’s possible arrest in an unrelated case. Meggs appears as a “GATOR” in message logs, a nickname that also refers to federal indictments against him.
Meggs, Vallejo and Rhodes have them all pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges arising from their alleged involvement in the riots and intend to fight the charges in the trial later this year. Tarrio warrested last month and charged with conspiracy but he is not accused of actually entering the building. He also pleaded not guilty.
In other messages included in the court file, Rhodes sent a message that the mob was “taking it into its own hands” after Trump showed no “intention” to act and compared January 6, 2021 with the “Boston Massacre” in the Hours After the Peak of Violence.
Jackson did not respond to CBS News’ questions about any communications with accused members of the Oath Keepers. Instead, his spokesman issued a written statement to CBS News, saying: “Like many public figures, people he doesn’t know often talk about Rep. Jackson. He doesn’t know or has ever spoken to the people in question. he stayed with the Capitol police to help defend the floor of the house and was one of the last members to be evacuated. “
A Washington federal judge will consider Vallejo’s attempt to be released from custody during the oral arguments sent for next week.
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- guardians of the oath
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