Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/540

 Amendment Praetorian (1AP), to guard VIPs, including retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and Patrick Byrne. Rhodes indicated that the Oath Keepers would be "working closely" with them for the event.

The Oath Keepers continued to call for President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act throughout December 2020, arguing that the President needed to do so to "Stop the Steal." This fantasy reflected a warped sense of reality. Rhodes testified that President Trump could have mobilized "unorganized militia," including the Oath Keepers, to suppress an insurrection if he attempted to stay in power after losing the election. But the Oath Keepers themselves were the ones contemplating insurrection. On December 10, 2020, Rhodes messaged others: "Either Trump gets off his ass and uses the Insurrection Act to defeat the Chicom puppet coup or we will have to rise up in insurrection (rebellion) against the ChiCom puppet Biden. Take your pick." Rhodes was blunt in other messages to the Oath Keepers, writing: "We need to push Tump [sic] to do his duty. If he doesn't, we will do ours. Declare Independence. Defy[,] Resist[,] Defend[,] Conquer or Die. This needs to be our attitude."

As the Proud Boys began their plans for January 6th, Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, reached out. In the past, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers had their differences, deriding each other's tactics and ethos during the summer 2020 protests. But President Trump's tweet on December 19th conveyed a sense of urgency which provided the two extremist rivals the opportunity to work together for a common goal.

After President Trump's tweet, Meggs called Enrique Tarrio. They spoke for 3 minutes and 26 seconds. Meggs also sent a message on Facebook, bragging about an alliance he had formed among the Oath Keepers, the Florida Three Percenters, and the Proud Boys: "We have decided to work together and shut this shit down." The Oath Keepers were making plans of their own, too.

"Oath Keepers president [Rhodes] is pretty disheartened," Roberto Minuta, one of Rhodes' men, messaged someone on December 19th. "He feels like it's go time, the time for peaceful protest is over in his eyes. I was talking with him last night." Minuta has been charged with "seditious conspiracy" and other crimes.

In the days that followed, the Oath Keepers planned for violence. They used encrypted chats on Signal to discuss travel plans, trade tips on tactical equipment to bring, and develop their plans for once they were on the