Militia groups expected to be focus at Jan. 6 hearing: What to know about Arizona's connection

As a group of Oath Keepers joined the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, one that eventually would use a standard military formation to break through the crowd and breach the building, a 63-year-old man from Phoenix was in a Virginia hotel packed with weapons awaiting his orders.

“Vallejo back at hotel and outfitted," the man, Edward Vallejo, messaged to other Oath Keepers at 2:24 p.m. that day, according to court records.

"Have 2 trucks available. Let me know how I can assist."

Prosecutors contended that Vallejo and the other Oath Keepers were amassing an arsenal and supplies that could last 30 days. If President Donald Trump would declare martial law, the prosecutors’ theory went, they would be ready.

The scheduled 10 a.m. Tuesday hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was expected to look at the role of militia-style groups such as the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and Three Percenters in the riot.

When is the next Jan. 6 hearing? What to know and how to watch

In an interview on CNN, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chairman of the committee, suggested evidence exists of people in Trump’s inner circle speaking with members of the militia groups.

“We have a number of witnesses who have come forward that people have not talked to before, that will document a lot of what was going on in the Trump orbit while all of this was occurring,” Thompson said.

Ariz. man charged with seditious conspiracy

Vallejo was charged with seditious conspiracy in January, in an indictment that included 10 other Oath Keepers members, including the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes.

Vallejo split with the group in 2014 but somehow decided to join Oath Keepers in D.C., traveling in a vehicle loaded with food and kitchen equipment.

Vallejo said he thought he would be cooking for forces who might camp out and picket up until the inauguration day a few weeks later.

Prosecutors contend that Vallejo was part of a so-called “quick reactionary force” and was poised to deliver weapons to Oath Keepers if need be.

Rhodes sent a group message on the morning of Jan. 6 that described several “QRFs outside DC.” Who would be “watching and waiting on the outside in case of worst case scenarios.”

Vallejo used the term QRF himself in a text message sent on Jan. 6. “QRF standing by at hotel,” he wrote. “Just say the word.”

More: How an Arizona man was charged with seditious conspiracy

A documentary filmmaker captured footage of the leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys meeting in a parking garage on Jan. 5, 2021, the night before the riot. The head of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was ordered out of the city after an arrest. Video of the apparent first meeting between the two men was played during the initial prime time Jan. 6 committee hearing.

A group of Proud Boys from Arizona, clad in orange caps and armbands, were among the first wave of rioters to breach the barricades outside the U.S. Capitol. A Capitol police officer testified during the first public hearing on June 9 that the situation grew more dire when the Arizona contingent of Proud Boys joined the crowd at the barricades, with verbal attacks starting to be aimed at officers.

One man, Micajah Joel Jackson, was sentenced to 36 months probation after he was seen marching with the orange-clad Proud Boys. Jackson said he was not a member but simply marched with fellow Arizonans who were kind enough to gift him an orange armband.

The other orange-clad Proud Boys from Arizona have not yet been identified, nor arrested.

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Arizona lawmakers who support Oath Keepers

At least three Arizona lawmakers have shown support for Oath Keepers, including at least one who has also drawn attention from the Jan. 6 committee.

Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem has called himself an Oath Keeper on social media, has spoken to Oath Keeper chapters and called himself a member when he first ran for the House in 2014.

“I’m an Oath Keeper committed to the exercise of limited, constitutional governance,” he wrote in response to a candidate questionnaire sent out by the community news website inmaricopa.com.

Finchem planned an unofficial legislative meeting at a downtown Phoenix hotel that featured Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and presented hours of purported evidence of election fraud.

Finchem was in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, for a rally he planned alongside Ali Alexander, an activist who spearheaded the Stop the Steal movement.

State Sen. Wendy Rogers also has claimed membership to the Oath Keepers.

State Sen. Kelly Townsend posted on Twitter that she was an Oath Keeper but later seemed to hedge that it didn’t mean she belonged to a group, but that she just kept her oath of office.

Rogers and Townsend are running against each other for a state Senate seat.

The Proud Boys do not have any advertised meetings where politicians are invited. But members were often seen at the Arizona State Capitol during various protests. They also have attended rallies and speeches where speakers claimed election fraud.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jan. 6 hearing: What to know about Arizona's ties to militia groups