Skip to main content

Feds Finally Identify Oath Keepers Defendant as Former Firefighter Who Had ‘ALL the Necessary 2A Gear’ for Jan. 6

 

Oath Keepers approach the U.S. Capitol in “stack” formation, prosecutors say in this indictment of nine members. The arrow points to Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs.

The name of the mysterious 13th member of the Oath Keepers charged in the Jan. 6th assault on Congress has been unsealed by federal prosecutors on Thursday: Jonathan Walden allegedly had a hand in the extremist group’s most alarming plans and escapades.

Federal prosecutors claim that Walden expressed interest in joining the group’s so-called quick reaction force and rode in a pair of golf carts that swerved around law enforcement en route to the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors recently claimed the group’s quick reaction force, abbreviated as a “QRF,” had planned to be on standby with guns waiting to be ferried across the Potomac River in the event of a “worst case scenario” on the day of the siege.

“I am interested in the QRF team in D.C.,” Walden allegedly wrote in a message on Jan. 5 this year, according to the indictment. “I am former Firefighter, EMT-B and have a K-9 trained for security patrol (82 lb. German Shepherd named ‘Warrior’). I have a Jump Bag with Trauma supplies and have ALL the necessary 2A gear that the situation may require.”

The “necessary 2A gear” appears to be a reference to the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

“PLEASE ADVISE,” Walden’s message allegedly continued. “As soon as I hear from you I can hit the road to join up!”

According to the indictment, Walden signed the missive with his full name and phone number.

Court papers also show Walden’s alleged communications with one of Roger Stone’s reported security guards Joshua James, who was charged in the same indictment.

Prosecutors say that a document saved on James’s phone had Walden’s application and the message: “Jonathan Walden below is all clear but when I sent return email with burner phone number it was returned so may have to call him.”

Stone, the Richard Nixon-loving self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” for former President Donald Trump, has not been charged with wrongdoing in relation to the events of Jan. 6, but two of his reported security detail are: James and Robert Minuta, who looms large in a golf cart caper alleged by prosecutors.

“Patriots are storming the Capitol building; there’s violence against patriots by the D.C. Police; so we’re en route in a grand theft auto golf cart to the Capitol building right now,” Minuta was quoted as saying in a third superseding indictment. “[I]t’s going down, guys; it’s literally going down right now Patriots storming the Capitol building… fucking war in the streets right now word is they got in the building… let’s go.”

The unsealed version of the fourth superseding indictment, charging 16 defendants in an alleged Oath Keepers conspiracy, shows that prosecutors believe Walden joined Minuta and James on that golf cart ride.

On Sunday, three Florida men were charged with Walden, while his own identity was still secret: Joseph Hackett, a 50-year-old from Sarasota; Jason Dolan, a 44-year-old from Wellington; and William Isaacs, a 21-year-old from Kissimmee.

Dolan was arrested on May 27, and Isaacs self-surrendered the same day, prosecutors say.

Hackett was arrested the following day.

Read the unsealed Fourth Superseding Indictment below:

(Screenshot from a prior Oath Keepers indictment)

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Filed Under:

Follow Law&Crime:

Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld."