Indiana Oath Keepers Raises Money on Amazon Smile



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Illustration from article titled Oath Keepers Militia Group Chapter Raises Money Through Amazon Smile

Photo: Jon Cherry (Getty Images)

Militia members tap at least one source of income through Amazon’s charitable partnership program, Amazon Smile. Starting Tuesday night, Amazon shoppers can choose to donate 0.5% of their purchase fees to the Indiana chapter of the anti-government armed group Oath Keepers, a member of which was just loaded with a plot linked to the attack on the Capitol.

The Sleeping Giants group, which marks the online promotion of far-right groups, spotted the connection today. Amazon Smile is listed on the Indiana Oath Keepers site as an Affiliate.

Several other charities referring to Oath Keepers and other far-right groups are also listed as participating in the Amazon Smile program, but we were unable to confirm key details of these accounts prior to publication. .

This morning the Washington Post reported that a 66-year-old man presumed to be a Oath Keeper Member became the first to be charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill. FBI documents, including personal communications, suggest he had atttaken to organize 30-40 followers to coordinate a seat. A message among the group called for a “citizen arrest” of lawmakers.

Oath keepers, who matter law enforcement officers among their ranks, were a pillar of armed protests over the years with other travelers like Boogaloo Bois and the Trois Pour Cent. They too self-promote at climatic disaster sites.

It is not known how the Indiana Oath Keepers use funds raised through Amazon Smile. This, however, is probably irrelevant. Amazon Smile Terms specifically prohibit groups that “engage in, support, encourage or promote intolerance, hatred, terrorism” and “violence”.

Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment. Indiana Oath Keepers and OathKeepers.org also did not respond to a request for comment.

The UK-based investigation bureau last month opened up democracy found that Amazon was home to more than 40 anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion hate-evangelizing groups. These include the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which has reportedly spent over $ 96 million since 2008 to international campaigns block access to abortion and suppress LGBTQ rights; the Trump-linked American Center for Law and Justice, which provided legal arguments for the ban on abortion in Poland; and the Indiana Chapter of the American Family Association, a designated Southern Poverty Law Center hate group who blamed Nazism on homosexuality. As of this writing, none of the more than 40 groups investigated and alerted on Amazon have been deleted.

An Amazon spokesperson said in an email last month that charities that violate its eligibility requirements, including promoting illegal activity, will no longer be able to participate in the Smile program. He added that Amazon relies on the US Bureau of Foreign Assets Control and the SPLC “to provide the data necessary for these determinations.” The SPLC has named the Oath Keepers an extremist group deserving of long profile.

Congratulations, Amazon stood ready his politics prohibition violent content by revoking Parler’s hosting services. After Parler filed a request for Amazon Web Services to reestablish the site, Amazon submitted a horror list examples of messages, including death threats mixed with racist slurs. Amazon said it had previously reached out to Speak about its failure to moderate rampant hate speech in November 2020.

The Indiana Oath Keepers site is also urging visitors to choose them as beneficiaries of Kroger’s Community Rewards program, where it can no longer be found. The supermarket chain said in an email it was “appalled” to learn that Oath Keepers had benefited from the program and quickly deregistered them today.



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