Claim Oath Keeper leader in contact with Secret Service

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The founder of the Oath Keepers indicated in the months before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that he was in contact with a member of the Secret Service, a former member of the far-right organization testified during a seditious conspiracy trial on Thursday.

Former Oath Keepers member John Zimmerman testified that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told him he had a contact in the Secret Service, and Zimmerman said he heard Rhodes talking with someone he believed to be a member of the Secret Service in September 2020, a bit over three months before the Jan. 6 attack. The reported call came ahead of a Trump rally in North Carolina, where Zimmerman was an Oath Keepers county leader before leaving the organization.

Rhodes got on the phone with the unknown individual to ask about “parameters” that the Oath Keepers could operate under during the rally, Zimmerman said. He said that Oath Keepers attended the rally to escort attendees from the rally location to their vehicles.

“From the questions Stewart — Mr. Rhodes — was asking, it sounded like it could’ve been” a Secret Service agent, Zimmerman said.

In response to a request for comment, a Secret Service spokesperson told NBC News, "We are aware that individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries."

"As part of our protective mission, we will establish an overall security plan, including traffic and crowd management protocols at venues where a protectee is scheduled to visit," the spokesperson said in a statement. "As part of this effort, it is not uncommon for various organizations to contact us concerning security restrictions and activities that are permissible in proximity to our protected sites."

The spokesperson emphasized that "regardless of organization affiliation, no weapons of any kind are allowed inside of a Secret Service protected site or venue. Only sworn law enforcement officials who are actively participating with the security plan are allowed to have weapons at these locations."