Documents uncover ties between the extremist group and the conservative politics, police and legal establishment

Documents from a Utah offshoot of the rightwing Oath Keepers militia show that two 2023 leadership meetings of the extremist group were attended by former law enforcement officers, a serving prosecutor and a former elected official.

The meetings – whose minutes record discussions on “Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ) Bird Training”, “Hand to Hand Training” and the “role of an armed responder” – show how deeply intertwined the organization had become with conservative politics, law enforcement and the legal establishment in the cities of Utah’s metropolitan Wasatch front region and beyond.