A leader of the right-wing group the Oath Keepers told other members he had formed an “alliance” with two other extremist groups ahead of Donald Trump's Jan. 6 rally that ultimately led to the storming of the Capitol.
The new information came to light in a Justice Department filing Tuesday opposing the release of Florida Oath Keeper leader Kelly Meggs, who told associates in a Dec. 19 Facebook post he was coordinating with members of the Proud Boys and Three Percenters.
“Well, we are ready for the rioters, this week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys,” Meggs wrote in a private message to an associate on Facebook. “We have decided to work together and shut this shit down.”
Meggs, who heads the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, is one of nine members of the right-wing militia group who have been charged with conspiring to undermine Joe Biden’s electoral win.
In other December messages, Meggs outlined how they planned to coordinate with the Proud Boys, which he called a "force multiplier," in the event of a confrontation with left-leaning antifa activists. "We have orchestrated a plan with the Proud Boys," Meggs wrote on Dec. 25. “We are gonna march with them for awhile then fall to the back of the crowd and turn off. Then we will have the Proud Boys get in front of them the cops will get between antifa and Proud Boys. We will come in behind antifa and beat the hell out of them.”
The Jan. 6 chatter among group members themselves is not new. But according to Politico, this is the first public evidence that prosecutors are investigating coordination between multiple right-wing groups in advance of their arrival in Washington. Although many of Meggs’ messages presaged violence, attorneys for the Oath Keepers defendants have emphasized there's no indication they planned to commit violence at the Capitol.
Prosecutors, however, say evidence is growing that the Oath Keepers had a coordinated plan to breach the Capitol. But who originally conceived of the idea to storm the Capitol and when exactly such a plan might have been formulated remains a mystery.
Last week, federal prosecutors also indicted four Proud Boys members on conspiracy charges related to the Capitol siege.
The former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia reaffirmed over the weekend that he believes some rioters could be indicted for "seditious conspiracy," a highly unusual charge used in instances where people employ violence to obstruct execution of federal law—as in, attempting to overthrow the government. “I personally believe the evidence is trending toward that, and probably meets those elements," said Michael Sherwin, who had been leading the Jan. 6 investigation before stepping down as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. last week.
Another interesting development: Longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone keeps appearing in court filings related to the Capitol attack. As Marcy Wheeler points out, Meggs first mentioned the newly formed "alliance" with the Proud Boys days after an Oath Keepers event with Stone.
Stay tuned.