WASHINGTON – A former spokesman for the Oath Keepers, a far-right “militia” organization, will testify at the committee’s next public hearing on Jan. 6 on Tuesday, a source familiar with the plans said.
While he was not part of the Oath Keepers, whose members have pleaded guilty to incendiary conspiracy in connection with the riots or with events during or prior to Jan. 6, 2021, the source said, Jason Van Tatenhove is expected to speak about the the propaganda efforts and radicalization of the group over the years, including how founder Stewart Rhodes took advantage of conspiracy theories to build membership and funding.
Van Tatenhove, who was hired as the national media director of the Oath Keepers in 2014, has not been actively involved with the group since about 2017, the source said. While he was employed by the group, Rhodes even lived with Van Tatenhove for several months.
With six public hearings behind it and at least two more to go, Tuesday’s televised event will focus on what some members of the panel have called the “marshaling of the crowd” — including evidence of coordination between former President Donald Trump, his top aides and associates, and white nationalist or “militia” groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. Committee members say the two groups led the attack on the Capitol.
Van Tatenhove met with the committee for 3½ hours on 9 March. He had also spoken to the commission pretty much before his personal interview, his attorney Raphael Prober said.
Prober described Van Tatenhove in March as “a former Oath Keepers employee who has not been associated with the organization for many years, but who has spoken out, and continues to speak out, about the grave danger posed by such violent extremist groups.” â€
The committee, which has not disputed that Van Tatenhove will appear, declined to comment further.