Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes Returns to Richmond for Gun Lobby Day

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, made a notable appearance at the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Lobby Day on Monday. The annual event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, saw Rhodes joining with political operative Ivan Raiklin who is tied to a legal attempt overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.

Rhodes was convicted of Seditious Conspiracy for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison but was released last year after his sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump

This was not the first time Rhodes attended VCDL's lobby day. In 2020, Rhodes attended the rally hosted and said that Virginia was the epicenter reality to militias. Less than a year later, Rhodes and the Oath Keepers would be storming the U.S. Capitol.

Other attendees for this year's rally included Republican speakers like Congressman John McGuire and Delegate Eric Zehr along with VCDL President Philip Van Cleave who once starred in video about arming children with Sacha Baron Cohen.

Among those not taking a partisan tone was militia member who went by the code name Sasquatch from the Virginia Beach based Virginia Kekoas. "I came out here today to support the Second Amendment. Gun rights are human rights no matter what party you are or who you identified as." The militia members expressed support for firearm access to people in transgender and Black communities.

When asked about armed protests against ICE in Minneapolis, the militia member nicknamed Sasquatch said, "I don't give a fuck. Boogaloo."

The event also provided guests attending the rally the opportunity to check in their guns at a valet service. Brandon Howard from Right to Bare Arms Virginia told me that his vehicle was pelted with eggs while waiting overnight.