Photo: YouTube
New York, NY – March 8, 2022 – The Intercept has published a rare, in-depth profile of Stewart Rhodes, founder of the right-wing militant group known as the Oath Keepers. Although Rhodes seldom agrees to speak to the press, over the last two years he consented to more than a dozen interviews with reporter Mike Giglio, resulting in an unprecedented look inside the life of a central figure in America’s modern militant movement.
Read: The Lonely Revolutionary
Giglio is the author of Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate. Giglio’s profile of Rhodes is driven by the same goal that animated his reporting in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine: a desire to understand the forces pushing people toward violence. Giglio traces Rhodes’ path from a 25-year-old Army veteran to founding one of the country’s largest right-wing militant groups and eventually becoming jailed and charged with seditious conspiracy.
Throughout Giglio’s reporting, Rhodes was unwavering in his belief that the 2020 election was stolen. But he also expressed feeling abandoned and betrayed by Donald Trump, as he and many of his fellow Oath Keepers face prison time for their alleged actions related to the January 6 Capitol attack.
“What I would tell the guys, if I could go back in time, is that they don’t give a shit about you,” Rhodes said. “So let’s not put ourselves at risk.”
About Mike Giglio:
Mike Giglio is a journalist and writer focused on war, terrorism, and national security, as well as probing this divided American moment. He has reported from countries around the world and embedded extensively with local forces to cover the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. He is a two-time finalist for the Livingston Award and a winner of the Arthur F. Burns Prize. His first book, Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate, was published by PublicAffairs in Oct. 2019 and is based on in-depth reporting alongside protagonists on all sides of the conflict. He is a 2022 National Fellow at New America.
About The Intercept:
The Intercept is an award-winning news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Its in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on politics, war, surveillance, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media, and more. The Intercept gives its journalists the editorial freedom and legal support they need to expose corruption and injustice wherever they find it.
Follow The Intercept on:
