A California sheriff running for governor defended his past affiliation with a far-right militia group, saying he is “very proud” to have been a member of the Oath Keepers.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, joined the stage with six other candidates Tuesday night to make a case for why he should be the next governor. In a heated exchange between Bianco and Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, a former mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa called out Bianco’s past affiliation with the right-wing group.
“You know, you’re an Oath Keeper,” Villaraigosa said. “We all know that.”
“And I’m very proud of that,” Bianco responded. “I’m very proud of it.”
The Oath Keepers took part in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and a former spokesperson for the group testified in 2022 that the group wanted to lead an “armed revolution” the day of the attack.
“I spent a few years with the Oath Keepers, and I can tell you that they may not like to call themselves a ‘militia,’ but they are,” said Jason Van Tatenhove, a former national spokesperson for the Oath Keepers. “They’re a violent militia.”
At a trial for members of the Oath Keepers who attacked the Capitol, prosecutors said the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, and his followers stockpiled guns for possible use by “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel, but ultimately never used the weapons.
Last month, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department moved to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers leaders who were sentenced to prison terms for their role in the attack. Rhodes, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the attack, was pardoned by Trump along with more than 1,500 other rioters last year.
Evelyn Hockstein/The Washington Post via Getty Images
During Tuesday night’s debate, CNN moderator Kaitlin Collins asked Bianco to clarify his stance on the Oath Keepers.
“I have sworn an oath three times to defend my constitution,” Bianco said. “And everybody that wants to like, again, lie and get all emotionally spun up about the Oath Keeper organization. I just would, before you do that, and I know none of you have, I want you to go read the mission statement of the Oath Keeper mission statement and the ACLU –”
Villaraigosa cut him off: “I saw them on CNN attacking the Capitol.”
An agitated Bianco gave a bizarre response back.
“I saw a politician molesting kids,” Bianco said. “Does that mean you molest kids?”
“What?” a stunned Villaraigosa asked.
“Exactly,” Bianco responded. “Don’t pull out those stupid statements and expect not to be called out.”
As sheriff, Bianco seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy.
Bianco is one of two prominent Republicans running for governor, and leading Democrats in the state are worried their party has so many candidates that they risk splitting the vote and sending a Republican onto the general election.
Asked by Collins if he still considers himself a member of the Oath Keepers, Bianco said “no.”
