– U.S. Army Airborne Veteran (Disabled and Retired)
– 2004 Graduate of Yale Law School
– 2009 Founder and National President of Oath Keepers
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About Elmer Stewart Rhodes
Elmer Stewart Rhodes III is the founder of the Oath Keepers, an organization he launched in Lexington, Massachusetts, in March 2009, aimed at current and former military, police and first responders who pledge to uphold their oaths to the Constitution. Born in 1966 in Fresno, California, Rhodes joined the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged after about seven months because of a spinal injury suffered during airborne school. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1998, worked as a staffer for Congressman Ron Paul, and graduated from Yale Law School in 2004 before practicing law in several Western states. The Montana Supreme Court disbarred him on December 8, 2015, for failing to cooperate with two bar grievances.
Rhodes was convicted on November 29, 2022, of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering in connection with the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, and on May 25, 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. On January 20, 2025, President Trump commuted his sentence to time served, and he was released the next day. In 2026 the Justice Department moved to dismiss the indictment, and on August 4, 2026, Judge Amit P. Mehta dismissed it, stating he had no authority to deny the government’s request.
Key Facts
- 2004: Graduated from Yale Law School
- March 2009: Founded the Oath Keepers in Lexington, Massachusetts
- December 8, 2015: Disbarred by the Montana Supreme Court
- November 29, 2022: Convicted of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering
- May 25, 2023: Sentenced to 18 years in prison
- January 20, 2025: Sentence commuted to time served
- August 4, 2026: Indictment dismissed at the Justice Department’s request
Sources
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