Oath Keepers and 501(c)(3) status

A couple of weeks ago Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. The Oath Keepers, as per the Southern Poverty Law Center, as “one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S.”

As other news organizations have reported, groups seemingly affiliated with the national chapter have obtained 501(c)(3) status. One specific affiliate, Oath Keepers Educational Foundation, appears to no longer have status but a quick check of the IRS public charity database indicates state and local Oath Keeper chapters that do (note that some of these state and local chapters disclaim any affiliation with Oath Keepers National). To the extent local chapters engage activities similar to the activities of a national organization that provably organized to storm the U.S. Capital, these local chapters should perhaps not have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Manoj