From the chief

A review of "Law Enforcement and Oath Keepers"

This is a short e-book written by a member of the Oath Keepers and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). Both are so-called Patriot groups, with conservative and minimal government philosophies similar to those of the John Birch Society. They are also similar to the “militia” movement of the 1990's. The main difference is that the Oath Keepers and CSPOA mostly recruit former or current members of the police, the armed forces and the fire fighters! Thus, they represent an attempt to “main stream” (relatively speaking) the Patriot movement. The Oath Keepers are mostly known for their attempted intervention during the Ferguson riots in 2014.

The author of this e-book, who is a retired chief of police, speaks in a personal capacity only. His main issues are opposition to gun control and illegal immigration. The author is also keen on “prepping” and believes that the main function of the Oath Keepers should be to organize evacuation teams in case the “stuff hits the fan”, for instance in the form of an economic collapse or federally imposed martial law. However, he is critical of the vigilantism in Ferguson (somewhat surprisingly). The author also defends the use of armed vehicles and assault weapons by local police departments, arguing that these are necessary due to the brutality of current street crime and domestic terrorism. Many other Patriots rather see this as an ominous militarization of the police. I get the impression that maybe the author's loyalty to the police clashes somewhat with his militia-like activities…

I don't think this is the most interesting material around. It says relatively little about the political ideology behind the Oath Keepers, and is mostly a series of purely personal musings. I'm not entirely sure how to rate it. Two stars? Three stars? It also feels somewhat overpriced.