The men attracted immediate attention in the mostly black neighbourhood, which exploded into violence on Sunday night as protesters marked the one-year anniversary of the killing of an unarmed black teen by police. This is the area that was the crux of the marches and protests over the past few days.
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It describes itself as a non-partisan association, telling members not to obey “unconstitutional orders”. The clip shows a person police identify as Harris grabbing a handgun from his waistband and running toward a parking lot, police say in response to the other shots being fired.
The Oath Keepers members said they had come to help keep the peace. No injuries were reported by police or civilians.
The far-right anti-government activist group largely comprises past and present military personnel, first responders and law enforcement personnel. Oath Keepers arrived in Ferguson in the small hours of Tuesday morning, heavily armed and focused on a nebulous, unspecific mission.
In December, a volunteer group of security guards associated with the Oath Keepers was targeted by police for operating without a license in Ferguson. Police used smoke to disperse the crowd.
“We needed to be prepared for that”.
At that time, St. Louis County Police issued a statement that said: “The reason the Oath Keepers were not allowed to remain on the rooftops is that the individuals from the group did not adhere to St. Louis County ordinance regulating security officers, couriers, and guards”.
As for the Oathkeepers, Mckesson said that they were a reminder that law enforcement in Ferguson “police based on race”. They told reporters on the street that they were in Ferguson to protect a media organisation.
“We engaged with them [protesters] all night, telling them we’re there to protect people’s rights and make sure they’re safe”.
Belmar, who was at the protest Tuesday night, said his concern was the potential that protesters could be angered by their presence.
A separate video claiming to be from an Oath Keepers’ award banquet shows one of them imploring members to “assume the worst” and “prepare for economic collapse”. Members of Oath Keepers, Pacific Patriot Network and 3% of Idaho said they came to Lincoln – the former hometown of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski – at White Hope Mine owner George Kornec’s request. County Police Chief John Belmar said their presence was both unnecessary and inflammatory. The county police department later said it was investigating to see if the men had broken any laws. The group’s membership co-ordinator referred an inquiry to founder Stewart Rhodes, who studied constitutional law at Yale University.
Some protesters questioned why the approximately five men were permitted to openly carry weapons. “These are big boys who like to play with guns and they like to justify that by saying they’re defending the constitution”.
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But the group’s leaders deny accusations it is a militia, anti-governmental or racist. “I’m hardly a poster child for white supremacy”.
