A Facebook video has surfaced revealing that Elmer Stuart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers militia, was an invited speaker at a March 26 Texas Republican Party event held on the border in Laredo to “Save America.”
Rhodes is currently under federal investigation for his role in coordinating deadly attacks on the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021. To date, 10 members of the organization have been indicted by federal authorities for their involvement.
In the Laredo video, Rhodes can be seen saying he was a paratrooper and went to Yale law school, two Key features of his bio, as well as that he expects “to go to jail soon.” The event was hosted by the WebbCounty Republican Party and featured speakers such as Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West and GOP Congressional candidate Sandra Whitten, who spoke from the same stage at the event. Sponsorship for the weekend conference was provided, in part, by IBC Bank with a special social event held at the Killam Ranch.
Local residents with the No Border Wall Coalition mounted a protest of the event, pointing out the contradiction of inviting insurrectionists to the border.
“You can’t come to the border saying you are trying to protect America when you just organized an attack on America,” said Laredo resident Valentin Ruiz, a U.S. Army veteran.
On Monday night, the Laredo City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the weekend event’s central theme of describing Laredo as a dangerous and unsafe “battleground” being invaded in a new “border crisis.”
The Department of Homeland Security has named domestic terrorism as one of the greatest national security threats, with “opposition to immigration” being a key belief driving attackers.
Texas Department of Public Safety reports Domestic Terrorism as increasing along the Southern US border. Congressional Rep. Bennie Thompson, Chair of House Homeland Security Committee, has stated “A lot of them mask themselves under some guise of being patriots.”
Washington Post, Feb 24, 2021, “Extremists are coming down here telling us that we are being invaded on the border? Well, they’re right, only they are the invasion.” said Maxine Rebeles, a Laredo resident and U.S. Navy veteran.
Background articles on Stewart Rhodes: | Daily Beast | CNBC | Buzzfeed |
