Jordan Green writes via Scalawag Magazine:
While Oath Keepers identifies itself as “libertarian” and “constitutionalist”—a seemingly awkward fit with Trump’s flamboyant authoritarianism—the militia network is unmistakably aligned with the new president, fielding what they call “roving security teams” at Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Since then, Oath Keepers have sent members to provide security for pro-Trump rallies in Berkeley, California that were the scene of running street battles between right-wing nationalists and the militant leftists known as Black Bloc or antifa—short for “antifascist.”
While claiming to oppose both White supremacists and their antifa opponents, Oath Keepers appeared in Pikeville, Kentucky in late April for a joint-rally of the avowedly fascist Traditionalist Workers Party and National Socialist Movement. Matthew Heimbach, the leader of the Traditionalist Workers Party, was charged with shoving a Black protester at a Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky last July, but is now reportedly claiming that then-candidate Trump encouraged the behavior in a counter-suit against the protestor.
As with many of these extremist organizations, the Oath Keepers' stated goals are rife with inconsistencies compared to their actions, such as claiming not to be racist while stalking black neighborhoods in Ferguson and waving assault rifles around. But their true nature, and the danger that represents, was on display during the Cliven Bundy standoff where they took aim at Federal officers:
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