Oath Keepers are planning to use black protesters for a special kind of experimental demonstration within the next couple of weeks by arming some 50 black individuals with AR-15 rifles in a march to show what Missouri’s open-carry law really stands for, Red Dirt Report notes.
Sam Andrews, who heads a St. Louis County chapter, said the event will most likely occur within the next “couple of weeks,” comparing the event to Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Washington, D.C., according to the site.
“It will be an iconic event,” Andrews told the site.
The armed black participants will be surrounded by Oath Keeper members, Andrews said.
The Oath Keeper said that he was moved to attempt the experiment after the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, when members were allegedly told that they could not carry long-barrel rifles into Ferguson. The Oath Keepers reportedly said that they were there at the request of journalists, providing security while they covered the anniversary. However, the journalists, Joe Biggs and Jakari Jackson of Infowars.com, publicly denied making such a request, according to Red Dirt Report.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar confronted the group about its weapons, the site reported.
“My only problem is with the long guns and inciting these guys out here,” Belmar said, according to the site. “I have attorneys. I didn’t go to law school. I get what you guys stand for and probably agree with most of it. All I’m trying to do is manage this thing.”
Andrews also caught the attention of Black Lives Matter protesters who challenged the Oath Keepers about their ability to openly carry arms without fear in the middle of a huge police presence.
“Every person we talked to said if they carried they’d be shot by police. That’s the reason we’re going to hold this event, and it will be a legal demonstration,” he said. “I’m sick and tired of law enforcement who doesn’t think they have to abide by the law. They’re narcissistic, and that guy [Belmar] discredited my men.”
Read more at Red Dirt Report.