Facing financial struggles, two far-right extremist groups at the center of conspiracy charges by federal authorities for their members’ roles in the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the US Capitol continue to struggle with fundraising and money management issues.
According to the Wall Street Journal, board members of the Oath Keepers are questioning the leadership and management of co-founder Stewart Rhodes, whom the board accuses of spending the group’s funds on things like hair dye, steaks and guns for himself.
The Oath Keepers have less than $10,000 in the bank, according to Rhodes. Their membership ranks have dropped 80% from their peak of 7,500. Four board members quit after uncovering Rhodes’ spending, and at least six state chapters has split from or minimized involvement with the national organization.
Meanwhile, over at the Proud Boys, founder Enrique Tarrio told the WSJ, “We’re bleeding.” Canada named the Proud Boys a “terrorist entity,” cutting off hundreds of members; the Canadian chapter has since disbanded. Tarrio’s website, where he sold Proud Boys merchandise, has seen sales drop by tens of thousands of dollars, and Tarrio has set up a “sock” e-commerce site (whose name he won’t mention) to sell Black Lives Matter-themed merchandise and t-shirts emblazoned with “Impeach 45”–referring to Donald Trump–to get money from liberal shoppers.
Both the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys have been cut off from mainstream fundraising sites and credit card processing services due to their radical agendas. Social media companies also deplatformed the groups because of their violent rhetoric.
While neither Tarrio or Rhodes has been charged as of yet in connection with the January 6th attack–Tarrio was expelled from Washington, DC prior to the date and Rhodes, who was with Roger Stone the day before the attack, reportedly never entered the Capitol–their groups face potential charges for helping to organize groups who did participate in the insurrection. The groups’ lack of funds provides a challenge to mounting a legal defense for the individual leaders and the groups at large.
Rhodes has squandered much of the Oath Keepers’ financial resources. According to an officer of the group, Rhodes used his official credit card to buy an AR-10 military assault rifle, splitting the cost into three payments of $350, the card’s daily spending limit.
The board limited Rhodes’ spending because earlier, Rhodes had bought $800 worth of merchandise and groceries at a Walmart when he attended an Oath Keepers rally there. Among the items purchased: a dozen t-bone and ribeye steaks and a set of exercise kettleballs. Rhodes left the kettleballs at the hotel when he left Virginia.
Others charge Rhodes never reported money that was donated to the group, using it instead on personal expenses, such as a $10,000 donation last year from Gary Heavin, founder of the Curves fitness chain, which was never received by the national organization.
When confronted about his spending and his money management, he reportedly told a board member, “I created this organization, it’s mine, and I’ll do what I want to do with this.”
Tarrio, on the other hand, may have self-sabotaged his organizations fundraising when it became public that he was once an FBI informant, making his leadership suspect among the membership.