From Yale to Jail Stewart Rhodes Hails
How one life twisted into a pretzel leads to a downfall.
What happens to a dream deferred, it dries up and festers like a sore. Harlem BY LANGSTON HUGHES What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over — like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?
This poem depicts Rhodes’s life as he sought greatness and amazement in politics. Of late, he has found himself in court, looking at jail time, and may end up drying up like a sore.
Elmer Stewart Rhodes (57) found meaning in the Oath Keepers and the Oath Keeper became the keeper of his life. The Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose members claim to be defending the Constitution of the United States and was incorporated in 2009 by Rhodes, a lawyer, and former paratrooper, a military parachutist.
Currently, from Yale to jail Rhodes has found himself sitting in court where his fate does not look as bright as he probably thought as he aligned with Trump during the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Today, Rhodes and four others are being tried on charges of seditious conspiracy.
Rhodes assembled one of the largest far-right anti-government militia groups in United States History post being a promising Yale Law School graduate. His life pursuits included clerkship on the Arizona Supreme Court post being an Army paratrooper which an accident side-stepped. He was known for being one that did not fit in but appeared to be angry and aggrieved. On the job, he was distant and eventually left his job due to the strain between him and his boss.
His life took a turn that would lead him to be one of the thousands of insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He wrapped his life around distrusting the government and had a big ego that thirsted for greatness.
That thirst led him into forming an anti-government group that attracted others with the same mindset. Various Oath Keepers chapters were formed around the country. Going down an extremist path, Rhodes appealed to like mindsets, and eventually lead to armed standoffs. News always commented on the Oath Keepers’ presence at rallies around the country as they championed their anti-government rhetoric.
An opportunity appeared where he as an extremist could possibly find greatness with the Oath Keepers by becoming instrumental in engineering a plot to overthrow Biden’s legal election for Trump to remain in office regardless of no evidence to prove that Trump won the election.
Rhodes as a lawyer of a sort now needs a lawyer as his actions have landed him in court along with four others tied to the Oath Keepers on trial for charges of seditious conspiracy. These charges are the most serious charges the Justice Department of all charges passed down so far for insurrectionists’ attacks on the Capitol.
Rhodes had let it be known that he was looking for and would someday get greatness via the sentiments of his ex-wife. Other adjectives to convey his intent were his life would include something amazing, incredible and earth-shattering, again according to his wife via the news media.
Rhodes, a Fresno native lived between Fresno and Nevada, with his mother and grandparents who were migrant farmworkers. Right out of high school, he joined the military and served nearly three years before being honorably discharged due to a parachuting accident that left him with a broken back. With the derailment of his paratrooper career, he worked as a valet in Las Vegas.
He met his wife, Adams, and they married. During the marriage, his wife’s pursuit was to attend college with monies provided by her family, but Rhodes decided he wanted to go to college first. He commanded her to get a different job from teaching dancing to becoming a full-time stripper to maintain the family, so he could focus on doing well in college. Adams was a Mormon and being a stripper conflicted with her upbringing so she quit that job. After she got pregnant with their first child, they moved in with her parents.
Rhodes attended the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and later worked in Washington as a staffer for libertarian-leaning Republican Rep. Ron Paul and later attended Yale. Rhodes also worked on Paul’s presidential campaign in 2008. During this time, he formulated the idea to form the Oath Keepers which was formally introduced on April 19, 2009, in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Herecruitedpast and present members of the military, first responders, and police officers who were interested in fulfilling the Oath Keeper’s goal, to defend the Constitution against enemies. The Oath Keeper’s members were mandated to abide by a list of orders, such as disarming citizens, carrying out warrantless searches, and detaining Americans as enemy combatants in violation of their right to jury trials.
Regarding the Oath Keepers’ membership, it has dwindled from 38,000 names to a few thousand active participants. Many separated themselves due to their ideology and being extremists. Issues that pertained to showdowns with the government, Rhodes called on members to train in military style and to form community preparedness teams.
At the behest of Trump hoping to stay in power, the Oath Keepers and its founder seized the opportunity to join forces with Trump to block the legal transfer of power by plotting the insurrection by amassing weapons, and setting up “quick reaction force” teams with weapons as Trump advised on national television, “Stand back and stay read.”
On an infamous day, January 6, 2021, two teams of Oath Keepers stormed the Capitol along with what appeared to be thousands of Trump’s supporters who were summoned to go to the Capitol by Trump.
Well as Rhodes wanted, he did do something incredulous but not amazing and not great but horrific, and will forever be labeled by his association with the insurrection and being found guilty of charges of seditious conspiracy. When you do the crime, you got to do the time. From Yale to jail Rhodes will hail.
In conclusion, karma is real and the time has come for Rhodes, the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, other right-wing groups, and individuals who took part in the insurrection to pay for their crimes. End of story.
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