A member of the Oath Keepers paramilitary group who is charged with conspiracy in connection with the Capitol riot claimed to be coordinating with the Proud Boys and a far-right self-styled militia to form an “alliance” on Jan. 6, according to court papers filed by the Justice Department.
The allegation emerged in a motion filed overnight by federal prosecutors in the case against Kelly Meggs, one of 10 alleged members or associates of the Oath Keepers charged with conspiring to interfere in Congress’ certification of the Electoral College count.
Meggs’ communications are the first that prosecutors have publicly revealed that point to possible coordination among extremist groups on Jan. 6. The conspiracy cases are among the most closely watched of the Capitol riot investigation.
The government says in its new filing that Meggs engaged in “extensive planning and financing” to travel to Washington, D.C., “and coordinate with his coconspirators and others on how to accomplish his goals of disrupting Congress.”
Prosecutors presented several Facebook messages and posts they obtained from Meggs that they say document his outreach and coordination with other groups following the Nov. 3 election.
“Well we are ready for the rioters, this week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys,” Meggs wrote on Dec. 19, 2020, in a message on Facebook. “We have decided to work together and shut this sh** down.”
Three days later, Meggs wrote another message that read: “He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your sh**!!” Meggs appears a to be echoing the language of then-President Trump, who in a Dec. 19 tweet called on his supporters to travel to Washington on Jan. 6 for a rally that Trump said “will be wild.”
The government cites another Facebook chat conversation Meggs had with an individual whose name is redacted in the court papers.
According to the government, Meggs wrote: “we have made contact with PB and they always have a big group. Force multiplier,” in an apparent reference to the Proud Boys.
“I figure we could splinter off the main group of PB and come up behind them. F crush them for good,” he adds. “We can hang for a while they’ll see one group then we all fall to back of the pack and peel off. We catch them in the middle ..game over.”
The government cites another Facebook message exchange from Dec. 25 in which Meggs allegedly tells an unidentified individual his plans for Jan. 6.
“We are all staying in DC near the Capitol we are at the Hilton garden inn but I think it’s full,” he writes. “Dc is no guns. So mace and gas masks, some batons. If you have armor that’s good. During the day it’s kind of boring but when it starts getting dark Game on.”
He also tells the individual that he or she can meet up with Meggs although he says he and his contingent will probably be providing security during the day for an individual whose name is blacked out.
Meggs then adds that he’s been in touch with the leader of a group whose name is redacted.
“We are gonna March with them for a while then fall back to the back of the crowd and turn off. Then we will have the proud boys get in front of them the cops will get between antifa and proud boys. We will come in behind antifa and beat the hell out of them.”
Several alleged Proud Boys have been charged in separated cases with conspiracy related to the attack on the Capitol.
