31
Left: James with Audrey on
their wedding day in October
2016; below: James, front right,
and fellow Oath Keepers escort
former Trump adviser Roger
Stone to a rally in Washington
the night before the insurrection2015 and only joined the NRA the follow-
ing year. Friends and neighbors never
thought of James as particularly political
beyond holding the standard conservative
views that are common in Arab, which is in
the nation’s most conservative congressio-
nal district. As with other veterans whose
involvement in right-wing groups like the
Oath Keepers led them to the Capitol on
Jan. 6, James’ descent into alleged extrem-
ism seemed less an expression of long-held
political fervor than the desire to be part
of a larger patriotic cause.LITTLE DATA IS KEPT on how often and
why veterans get involved with extrem-
ist groups, but there are plenty of high-
profi le examples throughout American
history. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Con-
federate army general, was the fi rst Grand
Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. George Lin-
coln Rockwell, a Navy veteran, founded
the American Nazi Party. TimothyMcVeigh and Terry Nichols, both Army
veterans, were convicted of the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing.
Founded by a former Army para-
trooper in 2009, the Oath Keepers has
quickly become one of America’s larg-
est antigovernment extremist groups. It
heavily recruits current and former mili-
tary and law- enforcement members, en-
couraging them to see themselves as “the
last line of defense against tyranny,” ac-
cording to Oath Keepers websites. The
group’s name refers to the oath sworn
by members of the military and law en-
forcement “to defend the Constitution
from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Some members falsely believe that the
federal government has been taken over
by “a cabal of elites actively trying to
strip American citizens of their rights,”
according to the FBI.
Groups like the Oath Keepers exploit
the sense of isolation that plagues many
returning combat veterans. Most U.S.
service members have no ties to extrem-
ist organizations, but the government
has long warned about such groups’ de-
sire to enlist returning veterans into their
ranks to exploit their tactical skills and
combat experience. A 2009 Department
of Homeland Security assessment said
right-wing extremists “will attempt to
recruit and radicalize returning veterans
in order to boost their violent capabili-
ties.” This disaff ection is often particu-
larly acute for soldiers of James’ gener-
ation, who served in America’s longest
wars as the country gradually became
more detached from overseas confl icts,
says Kathleen Belew, author of Bring the
War Home: The White Power Movement
and Paramilitary America. The Oath
Keepers peddles an opportunity to con-
tinue their service. “Militia groups have
really familiar structures of command,”
Belew says. “They have structures of fra-
ternal bonding, they have the organiza-
tional social elements that are very simi-
lar to the armed forces—and they’re built
that way deliberately.”
Prosecutors say James’ main contact
at the Capitol was Kelly Meggs, with
whom he had distributed disaster-relief
aid in 2017. According to federal inves-
tigators, the Florida militia leader not
only organized the Oath Keepers but
also planned to join forces with other
extremist groups, including the ProudBoys and Three Percenters, on Jan. 6.
Court fi lings in James’ case portray
him as a key fi gure in the plan to storm
the Capitol. Chats with other Oath Keep-
ers on the encrypted messaging app Sig-
nal “demonstrate that the defendant was
designated as a leader in the group, and
that he operated as one early on,” ac-
cording to prosecutors. James allegedly
fi elded messages from other men in Al-
abama eager to join his “quick reaction
force” (QRF) team. When one said he had
friends near D.C. willing to help with “a
lot of weapons and ammo if you get in
trouble,” James responded, according to
prosecutors. “That might be helpful, but
we have a sh-tload of QRF on standby
with an arsenal.” On Parler, James chat-
ted with Roberto Minuta, a New York tat-
too artist and member of the Oath Keep-
ers. “I’ve been hoarding any ammo I can
get my hands on lol,” Minuta responded
in December to a photo James had posted
of his guns and ammunition.
At around 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, James
and Minuta were allegedly spotted on se-
curity cameras speeding toward the Capi-
tol in two golf carts as James shouted di-
rections from the map on his phone. While
they made their way, a group of seven
Oath Keepers were preparing to climb the
Capitol’s east stairs in a tactical formation,
according to the federal indictment. To
pierce the mass of people gathered there,
each group member placed a hand on the
back of the person ahead—a military-style
tactic prosecutors called a “stack.” The
group forcibly entered through the Cap-
itol doors, where James and Minuta fol-
lowed 25 minutes later. “Patriots storm-
ing the Capitol building,” said Minuta,
according to prosecutors. “F-cking war
in the streets right now.”
Investigators say James exchanged at
least 10 calls and texts that day with fel-
low militia members, nearly all of whom
were clad in tactical vests, helmets and
other gear, while terrifi ed lawmakers in-
side the building hid and ran for their
lives. In the process, prosecutors allege,
James had broken multiple laws barring
conspiracy, obstruction and entering a re-
stricted building.IN ARAB, THE CHAOS in Washington felt
far away. A town that was named after a
typo, it was meant to honor the founder’s
COURTESY AUDREY JAMES; MARK PETERSON—REDUX son, Arad Thompson, but the U.S. Postal