Armed militia group Oath Keepers in Ferguson raises anger, concern among

Oath Keepers was founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, an Army veteran and former aide to ex-congressman Ron Paul.

In December, a volunteer group of security guards associated with the Oath Keepers was targeted by police for operating without a license in Ferguson.

It describes itself as a non-partisan association, telling members not to obey “unconstitutional orders”.

Mr Rhodes told the libertarian journal Reason in 2011 that his group’s mission was to “persuade the guys with the guns not to violate the Constitution”. However, the group is widely perceived as an anti-government vigilante organization. He said journalists are sometimes robbed or beaten when trying to cover volatile events and that his group wanted to ensure InfoWars writers were free to document the protests.

An in-depth profile by Mother Jones of the group in 2010 described it as “one of the fastest-growing “patriot” organisations on the right”.

“Their presence was both unnecessary and inflammatory”, he said, adding that police would work with county prosecutors to see if the men had broken any laws. The SPLC says the Oath Keepers envision a “coming last stand confrontation against globalist tyrants expected to steamroll across the U.S., crushing our freedoms”.

But according to Ferguson Committeewoman Patricia Bynes, their presence put a spotlight on the hypocrisy of Missouri’s open carry law. “I feel a lot better having those guys up on the roof”.

John Karriman, a representative of the group who teaches at the Missouri Southern State University police academy, said there were five armed Oath Keepers at the Monday night protests and a considerably larger number of unarmed members stationed nearby to try to help keep the peace.

“If there were black and brown people in this country who showed up in the streets openly carrying assault rifles in paramilitary garb, would they still be received the same way?”

Police have said as many as six people who were part of two feuding groups unrelated to the protest were firing the shots.

On Tuesday night, a handful of members returned to West Florissant, where a crowd of about 100 protesters had gathered. They also appeared at the protest there a night earlier.

Protesters attempted to distance themselves from the Oath Keepers and push them back, while St.

One protester was filmed asking an Oath Keeper member “If you’re armed, why can’t the protesters be armed?” Videos and pictures posted online show that the Oath Keepers spotted at the rally are all white.

Members of an armed militia group patrolling the streets of Ferguson are drawing criticism from the county police chief overseeing security in the St. Louis suburb.

The far-right anti-government activist group largely comprises past and present military personnel, first responders and law enforcement personnel.

Harris was shot late Sunday after allegedly opening fire on an unmarked police van.

“These are boys with big guns crying wolf, and we can only hope they don’t wind up shooting someone by accident”, he told the BBC.