Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes announced [Wednesday] that he had reached out to Davis’ lawyers at Liberty Counsel to offer the protection of his group, which he says is already forming a presence in Rowan County, Kentucky, where Davis was recently released from jail after prohibiting her office from issuing marriage licenses.
Davis would not be budged from her moral and religious platform regarding gay marriages, and was ordered to jail by a federal judge who found Davis in contempt. Davis had consistently rebuffed granting marriage licenses to homosexual and lesbian couples – despite the fact the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriages in late June.
Ignoring the fact that Davis wasn’t – and was never going to be – executed, Rhodes goes on to say that “what matters to us is not whether you agree with her position on gay marriage or her decision to not issue marriage licenses”. The Oath Keepers believe that they need to protect against the invasion of foreign thoughts and influences from domestic and global enemies. They drew attention when they took to the streets past year in Ferguson, Missouri, saying they were protecting protesters from police during massive protests and sporadic violence over the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Oath Keepers as a “fiercely anti-government, militaristic group”.
On Friday, some of Davis’ supporters distanced themselves from the group. Her deputies have resumed issuing licenses despite her stance, and she is expected to return to work on Monday.
“This judge needs to be put on notice that his behavior is not going to be accepted and we’ll be there to stop it and intercede ourselves if we have to”, he said. We see the rise of an imperial judiciary that not only legislates from the bench, but is attempting to expand their “contempt’ power to likewise swallow up our Bill of Rights and circumvent jury trial”.
No one man should have that kind of power in his hands alone to decide guilt and impose a sentence of indefinite detention. We must stand against this. This is a situation in which Oath Keepers intend to “protect” Davis from American law enforcement if she defies the law and faces arrest again.
Arguing that the Rowan County Sheriff failed do perform his legal duties in “interceding” on Davis’ behalf, Rhodes stated his organization will have to step in in their stead. The group had not replied to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The Oath Keepers is a “patriot” groups that stations armed civilians, or as they prefer to call them “constitutional sheriffs”, outside of government buildings and other public spaces.
“The Oath Keepers are hardly the only far-right extremists who have shown up to participate in the circus that has developed outside the Rowan County Courthouse in the past week”, the SPLC blog adds.
Former Kentucky Sheriff Denny Peyman, of Jackson County, has spoken with Rhodes and with the Oath Keepers. “We’re concerned about the litigation, and we’re not getting bogged down in the side drama”.