Oath Keepers installed far-right militiaman on NRA board of directors: report

On Friday, Rolling Stone profiled how the NRA has allowed a prominent member of the far-right Oath Keepers paramilitary group to take a position on its board of directors.

"When the National Rifle Association announced election results in August, it welcomed Donald J. Bradway as a new member of its board of directors," reported Tim Dickinson. "Known in right-wing circles as a prepper and a survivalist, Bradway also appears on the leaked membership rolls of the Oath Keepers — an anti-government militia, steeped in right-wing conspiracies, whose members have engaged in armed vigilantism. His ascension to the NRA board highlights a troubling crossover between the nation's most powerful gun lobby and the anti-government militia — which have increasingly come into ideological alignment."

The Oath Keepers, who are known for recruiting current and former law enforcement and military to their cause, subscribe to an extreme right view of the U.S. Constitution, and its members swear to refuse to uphold laws that violate their "oath." Their members played a prominent role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and one member involved, who goes by the name of "Turmoil," is reportedly cooperating with federal prosecutors.

This comes as the NRA has faced a series of scandals and struggles. The New York State Attorney General has filed a suit seeking to dissolve the NRA over allegations they systematically abused their nonprofit status and committed fraud against donors by diverting money to senior leadership.

The gun rights organization has sought to declare bankruptcy and reincorporate in Texas, but in a highly unusual move, a federal judge in Texas blocked the restructuring, concluding the NRA's filing was a tactic to try to thwart New York's litigation.

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