Militia members benefit from at least one stream of income through Amazon’s charity program, Amazon Smile. Starting Tuesday evening, Amazon shoppers can choose to donate 0.5% of their purchase costs to the Indiana branch of the armed anti-government group Oath Keepers, one of which was a member just charged with conspiracy related to the Capitol attack.
The Sleeping Giants group, which marks online promotion for far-right groups, saw the connection today. Amazon Smile is listed on the Indiana Oath Keepers website as an affiliate.
Multiple other charities referring to Oath Keepers and other far-right groups are also listed as participants in the Amazon Smile program, but we were unable to confirm key details about these accounts before they were published.
This morning the Washington Post reported that a 66 year old one Oath Keeper member is the first to be charged with conspiracy in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol. FBI documents, including personal communications, suggest he attcleared to host 30-40 followers to coordinate a siege. A message among the group called for “citizen arrest” from lawmakers.
The oath keepers, who count law enforcement officers among their ranks, have been a mainstay in armed protests over the years with fellow travelers such as Boogaloo Bois and the Three Percenters. She also self promotion in locations with climate disasters.
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It is not clear how the Indiana Oath Keepers are using the money raised through Amazon Smile. However, that is probably irrelevant. Amazon Smile’s Terms specifically prohibit groups that “engage in, support, encourage or promote intolerance, hatred, terrorism” and “violence”.
Amazon has not yet responded to a request for comment. The Indiana Oath Keepers and OathKeepers.org also did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the UK-based research institute launched openDemocracy found it that Amazon organized more than 40 hate-evangelizing anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion groups. These include the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which has reportedly spent more than $ 96 million since 2008 international campaigns to block access to abortion and suppress LGBTQ rights; the Trump-affiliated American Center for Law and Justice, which took care of that legal arguments for banning abortion in Poland; and the Indiana division of the American Family Association, a center designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center hate group that’s what Naziism blamed for homosexuality. As of this writing, none of the 40+ groups investigated and warned to Amazon have been removed.
An Amazon spokesperson said in an email last month that charities that violate the terms of participation, including promoting illegal activities, can no longer participate in the Smile program. It added that Amazon relies on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and the SPLC “to provide the data for these determinations.” The SPLC has designated the Oath Keepers as an extremist group that has a long profile.
It’s commendable, Amazon has assisted his policy prohibitive violent content due to revocation of hosting services for Parler. After Parler filed a motion with Amazon Web Services to restore the site, Amazon filed one list of terrible sample posts, including death threats laced with racist comments. Amazon said it had already reached out to Parler about not moderating rampant hate speech in November 2020.
The Indiana Oath Keepers site also directs visitors to choose them as a beneficiary for Kroger’s rewards program, where it can no longer be found. The supermarket chain said in an email it was “baffled” to learn that Oath Keepers had benefited from the program and immediately removed them today.