January 6, 2021, insurrectionist and member of Oath Keepers
- Paul Gosar Friendly with Oath Keepers?
“We did a meeting a couple of years ago where our elected representative from Washington Paul Gosar came out and we asked him flat out at that time, ‘Do you think we’re heading into a civil war?'” Arroyo said in the video, which is titled “The Coming Civil War? Part 1” and was posted on November 22, 2020. “And his response to the group was just flat out, ‘We’re in it. We just haven’t started shooting at each other yet’.” Phoenix New Times was unable to reach Arroyo for comment. Gosar, a Republican and diehard supporter of former President Donald Trump, who represents Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, did not return New Times’ multiple requests for comment. But other clues of a relationship with the group have surfaced. An image of Gosar standing near a person wearing Oath Keepers clothing emerged last summer. Also, one of Gosar’s brothers, Dave Gosar, recently told the New York Times , (which first reported on Arroyo’s video), that the congressman is closely affiliated with the Oath Keepers. 1
- Phoenix New Times, Josh Kelety, February 1, 2021 – Paul Gosar Allegedly Met With Oath Keepers and Said the U.S. is in a Civil War
- Active-Duty Coppys Training for Civil War?
The far-right paramilitary the Oath Keepers is home to active-duty law-enforcement officers who are training up other members to prepare for civil war, according to one of the group’s top figures. CBS News’ 60 Minutes profiled the the increasingly notorious militia on Sunday night, and one of its leaders from Arizona, Jim Arroyo, spoke openly about the close involvement of police officers. “Our guys are very experienced,” said Arroyo. “We have active-duty law enforcement in our organization that are helping to train us. We can blend in with our law enforcement and in fact, in a lot of cases, our training is much more advanced because of our military backgrounds.” Arroyo’s statement was backed up by Javed Ali, an ex-National Security Council senior director and FBI counterterrorism official, who said the Oath Keepers are a “unique and challenging” threat to the U.S. because a “large percentage have tactical training and operational experience in either the military or law enforcement. That at least gives them a capability that a lot of other people in this far-right space don’t have.” Dozens of members have been implicated in the storming of the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington. 2
- Phoenix New Times, Josh Kelety, February 1, 2021 – Paul Gosar Allegedly Met With Oath Keepers and Said the U.S. is in a Civil War
- The Daily Beast, Jamie Ross, April 19, 2021 – Top Oath Keeper Says Active-Duty Cops Are Training Militia Members for Civil War
- Phoenix New Times, Josh Kelety, February 1, 2021 – Paul Gosar Allegedly Met With Oath Keepers and Said the U.S. is in a Civil War
- The Daily Beast, Jamie Ross, April 19, 2021 – Top Oath Keeper Says Active-Duty Cops Are Training Militia Members for Civil War