King of the Apocalypse (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music playing]

[Dakota] Yep, there we go.

We will see if that's any better

or more stable.

-[beeping]

-[Dakota] Hooray!

Oh, no sound.

Whoops.

Okay.

I am Dakota Adams,

and a time of massive change

is supposed to arrive soon.

But thankfully for you,

my logged-in few,

if Armageddon is indeed upon us,

you're in the right place.

My entire life has been spent

preparing for the end times.

My father,

the man the Feds consider

to be one of the masterminds

of the January 6th riot,

and founder of the now infamous

Oath Keepers,

was Elmer Stewart Rhodes III.

From inside our world,

he was heroic,

and was going to save America

from the end of the world.

[crowd clamoring]

[Dakota] Living for

the apocalypse is nothing new.

Humanity has been terrifying

itself with Armageddon

since the first deep thinker

came out of a cave asking,

"What happens if the sun

doesn't rise tomorrow?"

Stewart's vision

of the future starts

with a tyrannical government

that would take away our g*ns

and our liberty.

We'll then be plunged

into civil w*r,

a desperate fight for survival

that would ultimately destroy

America as we know it.

Most outsiders

will simply believe

this is all just

conspiracy bullshit.

But for Stewart,

the fear was all-consuming,

and the dangers extremely real.

He believed we should stand up

to the government,

and taught me

about great patriots

who ended up paying a heavy,

heavy price.

Great out here.

The rains have come this summer.

The grass is tall,

it's still green.

My cows are fat.

[Dakota] This is LaVoy Finicum.

Like Stewart,

his beliefs are deeply rooted

in the US Constitution,

and he felt the law of the land

had been violated.

He chose to make a stand by

taking over federal park land.

[dramatic music playing]

[Lavoy] I am putting everything

on the line!

I am putting my life

on the line.

I am putting my children's life

on the line.

And so,

you must decide for yourself.

If you're not ready,

that is fine.

But for me, myself,

just LaVoy Finicum,

this simple man,

this simple redneck,

I will stand.

This is no longer

the land of the free.

In order to be free,

you must be brave.

I'm gonna meet the sheriff.

The sheriff is waiting for us.

So, you do

as you damn well please!

This is LaVoy Finicum.

You wanna sh**t me,

you sh**t me!

Thomas Jefferson taught

we have to defend our rights,

or they are taken from us

by a greater force.

This is about freedom.

This is about America.

[man] They're out there.

-[Lavoy] Hang on! Hang on!

-[woman] Okay, they're sh**ting.

[woman] Stay down here.

[Lavoy] Go ahead and sh**t me.

-[woman] Stay down.

-[Lavoy] Go ahead and sh**t me.

[woman] Stay down,

stay down, stay down.

Stay down. Stay down.

sh**t me!

You'll have to sh**t me!

[woman] Did they sh**t him?

-[girl] Oh, my God!

-[woman] Watch out. Watch out.

Stay down.

[girl] Did they k*ll him?

God, keep us safe, please.

[woman] Please.

Please protect us, God.

[girl] Please, God. God...

[woman] Please protect us.

Please protect us.

[man] We got lasers still on us.

LaVoy got out.

I think they k*lled LaVoy.

[dramatic music playing]

[Lavoy] Stewart would make me

aware of many,

many stories like this.

Each taking us one step

closer... to the end times.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

["Ring of Fire" playing]

I fell into

A burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

[dramatic music playing]

[Dakota] To help you understand

how an apocalyptic obsession

has defined my life

and the lives of everyone

I care about,

I want to take you back

to the start

and begin with the most

obsessive human thing of all.

Long before Stewart would become

America's Most Wanted,

a long, long time before,

he met my mom, Tasha Adams.

[soft music playing]

[Tasha] I was working

at Arthur Murray Dance Studios.

And... I looked out

from the training room

where I was studying

for my big dance teacher test.

And I thought,

"Oh, there's a young person."

Everyone in the studio

is so old.

So, I noticed him.

A few days later,

the assistant manager

of the dance studio

brought me into her office.

She was just so glamorous,

and she had danced everywhere.

And when she brought me

into her office,

she surprised me because

instead of talking about

the dance students

and the schedule,

she started telling me

this long story

about how she met her husband.

And she was working

on a cruise ship as a performer,

and she just believed in love...

true love.

And then she ended it by saying,

"This can't go outside of here,

'cause dating students

is strictly against

all Arthur Murray protocol."

"But I have

just this strong feeling."

"I really want you to meet

my new student,

his name is Stewart."

And we met

another few days later at a,

don't laugh, a Dance-O-Rama.

It's a competition.

Everything is glamorous

except the champagne,

which is really cheap.

So, we met, and we danced,

and we started secretly dating.

I thought it was probably

the most romantic event

of my life, really.

He would just tell me

he'd never met anyone

as smart as me.

[chuckles]

I had grown up Mormon.

He let me know

he had been baptized Mormon.

He did not explain to me

that he had been baptized

in every church.

He had gone

to five different high schools

from all his parents

moving around.

And he didn't even know

what a vowel was.

You know, he had to ask me,

"What does that even mean?"

But he seemed like,

if someone just loved him

enough,

and cared for him enough,

that he could realize

his potential.

[minister] Now, with the legal

authority vested in me,

I pronounce you

husband and wife,

and you may kiss your bride.

-[chuckles]

-[guests applauds]

[soft music playing]

[Tasha] We had six kids.

[Tasha cheers]

He also got into

Yale Law School,

which was a big deal.

[Dakota] Stewart wrote a paper

while at Yale

about how the government

had eroded the Constitution

since the 9/11

t*rror1st attacks.

It was highly regarded,

it even won an award.

[Tasha] He had all these

bright plans for the future.

Kept saying what the country

really needed was a group

based on people who had sworn

an oath to the Constitution.

-I...

-I...

...do solemnly swear...

...do solemnly swear...

...that I will bear true faith

and allegiance...

...that I will bear true faith

and allegiance...

...to the

United States of America.

...to the

United States of America.

One of the names he had written

down was Oath Keepers,

as I thought,

"Well, that's a winner."

Yeah, I mean, I thought...

"What's not to like?"

You know? [chuckles] Right?

You're gonna keep your oath

to the Constitution.

What could go wrong? [chuckles]

[crowd clamoring]

[rioter] I was invited here

by the president!

An angry pro-Trump mob

storms the US Capitol.

[reporter]

What you're witnessing is,

I think, fair to say,

unprecedented.

Some of these rioters

who are coming out from here.

These are, I believe,

Oath Keepers.

The Oath Keepers

have been around since 2009.

It describes itself online as a,

quote,

"Nonpartisan association

of current and formerly serving

military police

and first responders," unquote.

And the group claims

to have 30,000 members.

The Oath Keepers were seen

at the insurrection

walking in line through the mob.

Investigators accused the group

of playing a key role

in conspiring

to incite violence.

USA!

[reporter] Research by the

Program on Extremism,

which currently tracks

all 711 cases as of today,

highlights at least

24 Oath Keepers

who are part

of this overarching conspiracy.

And while Stewart Rhodes

is not named directly

in these indictments,

he is identified as person one.

And throughout these

indictments, you can really see,

as the government alleges,

this kind of leadership role

that he takes on

the ground on that day.

[police siren wailing

in distance]

[Dakota]

Twelve months after January 6th,

facing negative press

from both sides,

Stewart sat for an interview.

It would be his last

as a free man.

[TV host] I kind of wanna

just hear, like...

what your last six months

has been like.

As expected...

except for all the demonization

from the so-called right.

I'm getting people declaring

that, "Oh, he's a fed,

he must be a fed,

he hasn't been arrested yet."

So, it turns out

the political right,

the media on the right,

everybody is as disingenuous

and partisan and--

What's the right word?

Irresponsible,

as the media on the left is.

And the people that read

the media on the right,

everybody is non-thinking,

accepting of whatever

they're being told

by their talking head.

-It's the same crap. Both sides.

-Did that surprise you?

Uh, no, not really. No.

So, the narrative on the right

is how you just laid it out.

What's the narrative

of you on the left?

Oh, that I'm the bad guy,

at that I conspired to invade

the Capitol,

and I'm the Grand Poobah,

and kingpin behind the scenes.

'Cause it's the big lie.

And the big lie is that

there was some concerted plan

to enter the Capitol,

there just wasn't.

At least, not on the part of any

Trump supporters that I know of.

Certainly not on our part.

What I would tell

your average leftist is,

I want you to remember

what it was like

during the Bush years.

When 9/11 happened,

and the Bush administration

began to set aside

the constitutional restraints,

like on detention

of American citizens,

and t*rture, and everything else

that they were doing

in the name

of the w*r on Terror.

And think back to what

you thought about it back then.

Quite a few people

on the political left

were opposed to it,

and so was I.

And think about the unease

and fear you had

that that was being turned

into a weapon

against political dissidents.

So, if they said

you're a t*rror1st,

they can just whisk away

your rights

and, you know, put you into

a whole different

lower level of proof,

and lower level of everything

and mess with you.

I think what they're doing

to the January 6th accused

is very similar,

because they're not doing

what's normal.

What's normal is you get bail.

Unless they can prove

you're a flight risk,

or that you're about to go

and commit

some horrible criminal act.

But they're just alleging

these guys are bad guys

who may commit other bad actions

based on what though?

Just the mere accusations,

'cause they walked

in the Capitol.

And most of these people have

no criminal record whatsoever.

Do you imagine yourself

getting whisked away?

Like, are you mentally preparing

for that?

Yeah, I'm ready for it. If

they do it to me, I'll just...

deal with it.

I'm ready for that.

In some ways, it'll help me.

It'll start knocking back this

bullshit about me being a fed.

You know?

Of course, they'll still say,

"He's still a fed," somehow.

He's still a fed."

So... But actually,

it'll probably improve

my standing

in the patriot community.

Frankly.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter]

The Department of Justice

has filed seditious

conspiracy charges

against a number

of January 6th rioters,

including the head

of the Oath Keepers,

Stewart Rhodes,

who was arrested today in Texas.

The leader of the Oath Keepers

sits in jail

on charges of sedition,

the harshest indictments yet

related to the attack

on the Capitol.

[reporter 1] It's as serious

as a heart attack.

I mean, seditious conspiracy

is one step down

from absolute treason.

[reporter 2]

Prosecutors are saying

this was something

that was well planned,

and this group,

the Oath Keepers,

were a key part.

The case of Stewart Rhodes,

according to prosecutors,

he was coordinating.

He was giving locations

to other people,

telling them

what weapons to bring,

and helping to coordinate

the as*ault

on the US Capitol.

[Tasha] Yep,

kind of how I remembered it.

Bunch of Stewart's crap still.

"Oath Keeper's email

alert list." [chuckles]

Um, well, this is the thing.

-[host] That looks bad.

-[Tasha chuckles]

This is just the kind of thing,

when you're looking

through bins,

you just have to be careful.

This is actually just smoke,

but you wouldn't know

unless you... [chuckles]

You just never know.

There could be pepper spray

or something worse or...

Oh, nice! [chuckles]

My wedding vows! [chuckles]

Wow.

This is something

his mother put together.

[sighs]

Stewart had very little contact

with his dad.

There was one point

where the mother

sort of sent him over there

as a teenager.

And Stewart wanted to learn

about how to be a man.

His dad had been a horse trainer

and a blacksmith.

He had done boxing,

he was a Marine.

But Stewart said

when he went there

to spend the summer with him,

he would just sit

on the couch every day

and watch television,

and wouldn't even spend

any time with him.

He did one boxing lesson

and said,

"Here's how you punch."

He punched Stewart in the jaw

and knocked him out

in the garage,

and that was the extent

of their boxing lesson.

And then the way

he turned out was just...

[sighs]

He turned out the way he did.

[birds chirping]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Dakota]

Far from being a villain,

when I was growing up,

Stewart was the redeemer.

The man who would save America

from the end of the world.

I was raised to be

my father's heir apparent.

Stewart's wish was for me

to be his mirror image.

A strong,

all-conquering Renaissance man

who could outfight

and outthink anyone,

except Stewart.

Built to reflect

all glory onto him

as the source of my bloodline

and all of its power.

[Stewart] And you can hear

the camera guy saying,

"I see something."

[soft music playing]

[Dakota] The year is 2008,

and Stewart has just started

Oath Keepers.

We, his family,

are living in a rental house

on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Oh, God! Stop it! Jesus Christ!

Our mom is homeschooling us,

and plans had just been shared

that we would all

soon be moving to Montana.

As Stewart saw,

it was my responsibility

to protect the family

from attack.

So, by this time,

I was mostly just doing

training.

I was 12 going on 13.

My job had been to somehow,

in suburban in Las Vegas,

learn wilderness survival skills

and practical skills

for living in the bush...

for when we... moved to Montana

and started up our compound,

like right before

the apocalypse,

whereas effectively

Stewart was staying in Las Vegas

to make as much money

as a lawyer as possible

up until the last minute

before we left,

so that we could better

situate ourselves

for the apocalypse.

We would play a game

where he'd be trying to train

in situational awareness.

So, he would step back

and disappear

while we were

in a grocery store, and then...

circle around and see

if he could sneak up on me,

and then lunge out

from behind a shelf and scream,

"Stab, stab, stab,"

and pantomime shanking me.

And everybody would look

and be like,

"What the f*ck was that?"

If he'd been an assassin,

I would have died.

The second eldest child

is my sister, Sedona,

a fearsome fighter,

champion grappler,

and martial artist,

probably the toughest

of all of us.

She was the first

to see through Stewart,

so at this point,

she thinks he's full of sh*t,

and is saying it constantly.

The disrespect causes fights

between us.

She's nine years old.

She's mostly found

away from the house,

practicing survival skills.

She's annoyingly strong

at those.

[Sedona] We had a lot of

survival books laying around.

I read pretty much all of them,

all the way through,

and I would go back

and read them again

and use as many of the skills

in there as possible.

Stalking up to animals.

A lot of it was just deer.

But sometimes, I'd also find

more interesting things,

like... mountain lion tracks

that had a bloody trail

behind it

that I followed for miles.

If I heard something, and...

certain kind of ways of doing it

to where I could

kind of pinpoint

where the animal might be at,

'cause sometimes

they're kind of like

ventriloquists,

and you can't tell

where they are,

and they do that on purpose.

I stayed outside

as much as possible

because Stewart's just not

very great to be around.

So, he would say,

If you... aren't always armed,

then...

one day someone's going to try

to as*ault you or something.

He would be like, "If you have

something on the side,"

he was like, "That's just

an open invitation for them

to stab you

with your own knife."

So, then he'd have a knife

like this

that you can't really see it.

And then he'd have us practice

pulling it out like this

over and over and over again.

You have to pull it out

and hold it a certain way,

and make sure your wrist

is straight and all this.

And it would take

literally hours

to just practice

one tiny movement,

until we got it down perfectly.

And we knew we have to get it

down perfectly,

otherwise we can't go to bed

or do anything else. [chuckles]

[Dakota] Despite his apparent

deep understanding

of apocalyptic dangers,

Stewart's plans for Judgment Day

had not come together well.

He had struggled to hold down

a job with legal firms,

and we were constantly broke.

Red bills had been arriving

for some time,

along with the threat

of eviction.

Then, overnight,

Oath Keepers swept us up.

As well as providing our family

with a modest income,

it gave Mom something new

to focus on.

[Tasha]

I looked after the website,

did most of the writing

and correspondence.

You had all these

military veterans

from Afghanistan and Iraq

who just wanted to be useful.

Stewart completely related

to that

because he'd been

in the army.

He had to drop out

because of an accident.

He broke his back

in a parachute fall.

A little while later,

he also accidentally shot

out his own eye.

He didn't like talking

about that in the public.

But leaving the military

without really serving,

it left a gap in him,

which he felt he

needed to make right.

[Dakota] By the time

Oath Keepers appeared,

the US had spent the last

six years fighting wars,

which many troops on the ground

felt were unwinnable

or unjustified.

Many of these ex-military guys

said the same thing.

The government had let them down

and it could not be trusted.

So, Stewart's calls

to respect the oath

spoke loudly to them.

Interestingly,

after the Vietnam w*r,

the same thing happened.

Then two militia groups

sprang up

with thousands

of disgruntled veterans

looking for something

to believe in and belong to.

Mom was so caught up

with managing the first few days

of Oath Keepers as a blog

that the power did get shut off.

It immediately turned

into a phenomenon

that became extremely real,

extremely quickly.

Seeing all of the things that

Stewart talked about around,

like, the kitchen table

suddenly becoming

matters of national news

validated a lot of

belief systems

in the family home.

The greatest threat

to our freedom

would be our own government.

And I hope every American

is watching your show today

and realize now

that we cannot depend

on our politicians

in Washington, D.C.,

to keep their oath and follow

and defend

the United States Constitution.

Right. Right.

[Dakota] I was extremely proud

to have Stewart as my father.

My mom, especially,

very much believed in destiny

and believed

that she had been predestined

to support and assist Stewart

in doing something

world-changing.

We are trying to prevent

this country

from suffering the abuse

and the violation of rights

that has happened in other

countries in recent history.

-How so?

-How so?

By keeping the oaths

to the Constitution.

It's not to any one man,

whether he gives you

a thrill up your leg or not.

-It's to the Constitution.

-Yeah.

It felt...

sort of vindicating

the way it took off

exactly the way

he said it would.

Felt like destiny.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter 3]

The leader of the far-right

extremist group,

the Oath Keepers,

is due to appear

in federal court.

[reporter 4] After making

more than 700 arrests

connected to the January 6th

Capitol attack,

it now appears investigators

are moving up the food chain.

[reporter] Rhodes has repeatedly

denied any wrongdoing,

claiming he never told his

members to enter the Capitol.

[Durbin] The insurrection

should be a wake-up call.

A reminder that America

is still confronted

with the age-old menace

that's taken on a new life

in the 21st century.

Terror from white supremacists.

[Dakota]

After the attack on the Capitol,

many called the Oath Keepers

white supremacists.

In the years that followed

Obama's election in 2008,

militia groups grew

by some 700%.

Barack Obama

is the first ill*gal

that needs to be removed from

the United States of America.

[crowd cheer]

[Dakota] But summing up

the entire militia motivation

as white supremacy

is missing a lot.

Stewart would call

the racism accusation a lie.

His grandparents were Mexican.

Yet at the same time,

he would appear

on conspiracy theorist favorite,

Alex Jones,

talking about how terrible

the Mexican problem was.

Look, you've had Mexican people

waving the Mexican flag

and burning the US flag.

That's not who we want here.

You could even deploy troops

into Mexico, as Wilson did,

to go and hit them

before they get to the border.

[Dakota]

He would also gladly point out

that there are Black members

in Oath Keepers.

I'm not gonna stand by

while some white supremacist

is going around murdering people

'cause of their skin color.

I'm gonna f*ck him up.

I'm gonna smoke him.

He's gonna take a dirt nap.

And a lot of my guys

feel the same f*cking way.

Ask Whip how he feels

about that. [chuckles]

[Dakota] Michael Whip Simmons

was his head of security

for January 6th.

Like Stewart,

he's also indicted.

[Michael] I got indicted like...

two days after

I told his attorneys

I would take

the stand for Stewart.

[TV host]

Why did you think that was?

Um, you know,

I can't say for sure.

Personally, they probably

was trying to keep me

from taking the stand.

And so,

they figured if they indict me,

I wouldn't take the stand.

I mean, if I take the stand

while I'm indicted,

you give up your right

to the Fifth Amendment.

So maybe they thought

it was a good move.

[soft music playing]

[Dakota] Whip fits

exactly the kind of image

that Oath Keepers wants

to present to the world.

An all-American boy,

wrestling champion,

signed up to the US Army,

served in combat in Iraq,

and then left feeling betrayed.

I'm not a member

of the Oath Keepers.

I'm just somebody who

Stewart brought in to do a job.

For me,

it just generated income.

But I could get behind

what the group was doing.

I mean, I follow politics,

but, you know, I don't vote.

You gotta understand,

nothing ever changes

in the neighborhoods

or in the ghettos

or what people would call

these "urban areas," you know?

Doesn't matter

whose a*s sitting

in the presidential chair,

nothing ever changes

in the neighborhood.

That sh*t doesn't matter.

All these people talking about

"The election's been stolen,

the election's been rigged,"

sh*t.

Talk to anybody

from any one of these areas,

they'll tell you,

"Elections been rigged forever."

So I don't vote.

You know, that sh*t for what?

What's the difference?

What's gonna change

where I live at?

[Michelle] It's too much.

Our government worries

about keeping their own--

They're doing too much

to their own citizens.

Way too much.

[Michael] It's all political.

[Michelle]

That's why, you know what?

I don't deal with the political.

I don't get involved with it.

None of that.

None of that.

[Michael] Man, I got an email

to go back to Iraq.

It's a government contract.

[Michelle] The same government

that's trying to prosecute you?

Now, you gonna go work for them?

[Michael]

It's just another job for me.

Stop going to w*r for them,

'cause they ain't going

to w*r for you.

All they wanna do is keep people

and they so damn dumb,

they keep their own citizens

against each other.

So if something was to come

to America,

we so busy fighting each other

that we can't even stand

together

to even w*r nothing off

if something was to happen here.

Let's look at the big picture.

Who are we fighting for?

All this stuff going on

with Trump

is a distraction

of what's really happening.

Our government ain't never

told us the truth,

-about nothing.

-[dramatic music playing]

That's why I don't get

involved in it.

I don't vote,

'cause they're gonna do whatever

they wanna do in the end.

Nothing else that the government

got theyself connected to

should you be involved in,

nothing.

Nothing.

Find another job.

[Michael] Doing what?

Anything but that.

[Dakota] "Trust nothing

and no one," we were told.

You might say

that's understandable.

Stewart said

under no circumstance

discuss what happens

within our family

or home with anyone,

not even another Oath Keeper.

In 2010,

the place we called home

was about to radically change.

We moved from

our small Las Vegas rental

a thousand miles north

to Trego, Montana.

Montana has a few things

that would appeal

to those who trust nothing.

Very few human beings

live there.

The land is vast,

so hiding is easy.

Those human beings

who do live there

are often independent-minded

and isolated,

more likely to keep

to themselves.

Many come here to hide.

When we moved to Trego,

that's when Steward began

to get into his defense

planning phase.

It started

with the escape tunnels.

Stewart had been for a long time

very concerned

with how he would get out

of being besieged by the feds

and very concerned

with not being stuck

in a standoff situation

with no escape route.

It was really before

even putting in gardens,

the first major project

that we embarked on.

[medieval music playing]

[Dakota] There were two sets

of escape tunnels,

one that would be

a long L-shaped trench,

essentially, in the ground,

dug with a backhoe

and finished by hand.

That would be covered

with two-by-four and plywood,

and tarp ceiling with

rocks scattered over the top

and sod to conceal it.

And the way that would work

is a concealing shed

would be put against one wall

of the house

in the daylight basement,

covering over

a ground floor window.

And the floor of the shed

would have a trap door

that would drop into the tunnel.

And so,

in the event of a federal raid,

everybody would be able

to run into the basement,

file through this window,

drop down into the tunnel,

grab a 72 hour go-bags...

and take off

through this tunnel...

out to where it would drop

into the tree line,

and from there,

go into the woods.

If necessary, button hook around

to cross the stream

further into the woods

to lose the scent

of tracking dogs,

and then hike

to a prepared getaway car

that was not registered

to anybody associated

with Oath Keepers,

staged on a logging road.

And from there, take the network

of logging roads out of Trego

to make our way

towards Idaho or anywhere else

where there was

a friendly support network

that could take us in.

[Tasha]

Now, we're in the mountains...

-I can't! You're laying on it.

-No, Dakota!

...and things did

not feel right.

I spent my entire adult life

being Stewart's wife.

Stewart's wife.

That's all

anyone ever called me.

Lots of people

never knew my name.

My kids had never been

to school...

really never socialized

outside of the movement,

outside of very controlled

circumstances,

with Stewart approving of it...

with Stewart getting in there

and controlling

the conversation.

And one of his things

was all conversations

flow through me, through him.

And so, everything had to be

sort of directed around him.

Like, all of us and the people

we were allowed

to socialize with

were sort of satellites

around him.

And so, what began to happen

is we began

to be isolated in plain sight.

And by the time

started thinking

this is terrible, I was trapped.

Stewart was king of our house.

Everywhere we went,

people come up to you,

"You're so lucky,

so lucky to be married

to such a wonderful man."

"He is on a mission from God."

[playful music playing]

[Dakota] While we were at home

preparing for the apocalypse,

the Oath Keepers was blossoming

into a large movement.

Thousands of new paying members

were joining.

They came from all parts

of society,

but many importantly,

had positions of authority.

Police, military, even politics.

All bought into

Stewart's apocalyptic worldview.

[Stewart] Your own government,

what they're going to do

is trigger an economic collapse,

let people k*ll each other,

let them starve

for three or four months,

let the cities implode,

and then come in

like the cavalry and say,

"We're here to rescue you."

"Turn in your g*ns,

you get a food cart."

"Turn in your neighbors,

you get a food cart."

"Those crazy patriots

are resisting us

"and sh**ting at us

at checkpoints

are the enemy."

Now, I put my neck

on the chopping block

and my family's neck

on the chopping block

by starting Oath Keepers

and saying

what I'm saying today.

I do it because

I have no choice.

I do it for my children.

I am urging you

to take this seriously.

[Dakota] Along with his

dire warnings about the future,

membership continued to grow

giving Stewart more power

and influence.

As a result, the Oath Keepers

were making themselves seen,

helping with disaster relief.

They even sponsored

a NASCAR racing team.

They also showed up

at potential standoffs.

One such event

was at Bundy Ranch.

Much like the situation

LaVoy had lost his life for,

there was a dispute

about federal land,

a popular standoff situation.

What we will do is

we will stand and we will fight

and we will die

if the government tries

to oppress the Bundys

or tries to attack us.

[Dakota] Law enforcement was met

with an armed camp

that grew larger,

more heavily armed,

and more paranoid by the day,

and refused to stand down.

Fearing a drone strike

against his men,

Stewart ordered Oath Keepers

forces to retreat

into the desert and withdraw.

Following the incident,

rumors started to spread

that he had been spoken to

by the feds and threatened.

A real model citizen.

[Dakota] He never confirmed

all of that to us,

but it's true

that from then on in,

strange stuff started to happen.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Tasha]

We could hear what sounded

like feedback in the house.

It was odd.

Stewart was convinced

we'd been bugged.

But I don't know.

I think, really,

for the most part,

I just thought

he was completely insane.

Like the more...

Sometimes I'd have

more of a moment of, like,

"Whoa, this is really bad."

[Stewart]

The name of national security,

during the Quasi-w*r

with France...

[Tasha]

He became more paranoid

because he's this now

supposedly famous person

that's running Oath Keepers.

The feds were gonna

hunt him down

and k*ll him or something.

People are following

what he says instantly.

People are gravitating to him

like a sun, you know?

[chuckles]

Like the sun is rising,

and they're gathering around

for the warmth.

I mean, they're basking in it.

And that's how it seemed.

I'm Stewart Rhodes.

I'm the founder of Oath Keepers.

Everyone here who has taken

an oath to support

and defend the Constitution,

please stand up

and raise your right hand

in the air.

[Tasha] But at the same time...

Put your right hand up

if you swear an oath.

...his mental state really...

degraded, spiraled.

[Dakota] There's a certain point

where things in Trego

really started to fall apart.

The supposed savior of America

is nestled upstairs in the loft

where he's constructed a nest...

all the way around himself

of piled survival gear.

And in his day to day,

he was completely fine

with peeing in bottles

and curling up

in his filthy blankets,

and occasionally...

wandering downstairs

to scream at people.

Not showering...

not cleaning up

his prosthetic eye

until the whole thing ruptured.

Everything you could imagine,

he was letting go.

[Dakota] And hit the absolute

peak of his isolation.

He'd slump over

mid-screaming tirade,

and then an hour later

come unpaused and snap awake,

resuming his tirade

exactly where he left off.

But he was so incoherent

that there wasn't really

anything to engage with.

You just had to wait

until he was over,

like a weather pattern.

[Tasha]

He had a huge meltdown

about two o'clock

in the morning one night

where he drug

everybody out of bed.

And Sedona said, "That's it."

I will not sleep

in the house again

when he's in the house.

And she built a hut

out in the woods.

And even when it was

minus ten degrees out,

she slept outside.

She would heat rocks

in the fireplace at night,

and she had a little pit

inside of her hut...

and she would put

these heated rocks in it

and put straw over it

to warm her bed

and put a little fire that

would go out by morning

in front of it.

And she'd sleep out in the woods

every night if he was home.

And I worried about her

freezing to death.

Sometimes it was so cold out.

She said, "I can't.

I just cannot be in that house

with him. I can't."

You never know

when he's gonna drag you

out of bed in the night,

and he's just screaming

at the top of his lungs.

But he saw that as her

embracing survivalist skills.

But honestly,

she just sort of disappeared,

'cause she just felt like

she had nowhere to go.

[Sedona] I saw my mom

as scared also...

of the whole thing.

I think there's not much

that any of us

could have done, really.

[dramatic music playing]

[Tasha] He would have

these meltdowns,

and I would have to apologize.

[door slamming]

[g*n c*ck]

[Tasha] And then,

he just drew his g*n, you know?

And... [chuckles softly]

But he didn't point it at me.

You know, he pointed it

at the ground,

and he would rack the slide back

and look at it and make sure

it was loaded and...

It was probably to be dramatic.

He knows it's loaded.

He knows it's chambered.

You know?

And then, he just plopped down

on the floor

and pointed it at his own head.

And...

"See what you made me do."

And so, this was something

that was happening a lot.

Like, a lot.

And he would always say,

"What are you gonna do?"

"You're gonna call the police

and say I'm suicidal?"

You know,

"I'm not threatening you."

[laughs]

Because...

he suddenly has more power.

I thought, there's really

no way out of this.

How would we ever

get out of this?

How are we gonna

get out of this?

I think anybody

looking at it would think,

"Oh, someone's gonna die."

"They're not all

getting out of this alive."

[reporter 1] A tragic accident

in Arizona today

when police say

a four-year-old boy

accidentally shot

and k*lled his father.

A tragic school sh**ting

this morning in Perry, Iowa.

This is the second

school sh**ting just four days

into the new year.

[reporter 2]

Two people have been k*lled.

At least 13 have been injured.

[reporter 3] A Delaware County

man accidentally shot

and k*lled himself

while climbing over a gate

earlier this week.

[reporter 4] Police say

the toddler picked up the g*n

from her parents' nightstand

and accidentally fired

that weapon.

The b*llet grazed

the girl's cheek

before hitting her mom

in the back of the head.

[Dakota] No one outside America,

and even some inside America,

understands

our relationship with g*ns.

Our life with Stewart

was full of g*ns.

We had about 60 loaded r*fles

stored all around the house,

so there was always one to hand.

As a libertarian,

Stewart believed

that any g*n control laws

were against the Constitution.

Having lots and lots of g*ns

is completely normal

for many libertarians.

[Dakota] Okay, libertarian.

What is a libertarian?

-[epic music playing]

-[narrator] From the dawn

of history, a better way of life

has been man's dream,

man's goal.

A better way of life

with freedom from the work...

-the worry, the hazards...

-[groans]

...and in time,

they formed a new nation...

dedicated

to a better way of life,

liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness.

[bluesy music playing]

[Dakota] A libertarian believes

in liberty for the individual...

political freedom,

freedom of thought,

freedom of choice.

-Freedom is everything.

-Uh-huh.

Freedom is the red line

worth defending

by any means necessary.

This is why,

for the libertarian,

the g*n is such

a fundamental thing.

No one quotes Marx more

than American libertarians

reciting that political power

flows from the barrel of a g*n

for making society unfriendly

to a military occupation...

or a police state.

[interviewer] You are promising

America tonight,

you would never abuse power

as retribution against anybody.

Except for day one.

[Dakota] When Trump first

stepped up to politics,

libertarians loved him.

He seemed to stand for

everything they understood,

someone completely outside

-the political system...

-[crowd cheering]

...someone who feels comfortable

putting the needs

of the individual first.

But once he got

into the White House,

we all witnessed

his limitations.

For the Libertarians,

this centered around

his lack of respect

for the Constitution.

After January 6th,

even Stewart struggled

to be convinced by him.

I think Trump

is a buffoon, frankly.

I think he's an egomaniac,

just wanted to be president,

and he got in there

and didn't know

what he was doing.

Just straight up, okay?

He's not the sharpest tack

in the box.

And he doesn't know

the Constitution.

He has no concept

of how it works.

He's in favor

of stop-and-frisk,

in favor of red flag bills,

you know, we'll do...

"take the g*ns now,

worry about due process later."

The guy doesn't understand

the Constitution, okay?

That's just the hard truth.

[Dakota]

We should stop this here.

Now, this doesn't mean

Stewart wouldn't back Trump.

He obviously still does.

People like Stewart

will forgive Trump anything,

because he's on their side.

So, moving on.

The place of g*n rights

in the US Constitution

is the Second Amendment.

"The right of the people

to keep and bear arms

shall not be infringed."

All Americans

have a very strong view

about the Second Amendment,

even those that have

no interest in politics.

You know, I kind of stray away

from anybody

who kind of speaks against

the Second Amendment.

I mean, you know, 'cause...

I mean,

who are you gonna depend on

if you can't depend on yourself?

Britt, if you call the police,

how long it take?

[Britt] Right now,

I mean, in Dallas...

[clears throat]

...30, 45 minutes. Easy.

Now, think about this.

If I was coming to your house

to do malice,

how much damage do you think

I can do to you, your house,

and your family in 30 minutes?

By myself?

Think if I got two

or three people with me...

you know, so,

I don't get behind any g*n ban

or any ban to restrict

magazine capacity. For what?

You know what I mean?

Like, I don't want a fair fight

if I gotta defend my life.

Like, sh*t, hell,

I think every house

should have at least two g*ns.

AR-15, AK, shotgun, whatever

you can get your hands on

to help better defend you.

You know what I mean?

Hell, you don't want

the fight to be fair.

You don't ever want a gunfight

to be a fair gunfight.

Who does that?

sh*t, if you got three rounds,

or four rounds, or five rounds,

and I got 30, you should've

bought more b*ll*ts.

[bluesy music playing]

[Whip] Now I'm indicted...

so everything has changed.

Generally,

when you get indicted,

they treat you like

you've already been convicted.

No matter

what the Constitution says,

the DOJ don't give a sh*t about

your constitutional right.

And it's generally

for the safety of, like...

the officers

coming to your house.

So,

when I knew I was indicted...

took all my sh*t out the house.

I wasn't going to let them

seize my weapons.

Some people might say...

[chuckles]

...this is a bit excessive.

[stammers]

But, you know,

it's a collection.

I mean,

weapons are tools for me.

And, you know,

I like collecting sh*t, too.

Like, I got a lever action

somewhere.

One of these bags.

Might be this one.

Yeah.

Well, you know,

get my John Wayne on.

I mean, hell, man, I like...

I like g*ns,

'cause they're g*ns.

I like sh**ting.

I mean, it's a sport.

It's recreational.

It's relaxing.

Hell, it's peaceful

on the g*n range.

You know, nothing but you,

God, and the weapon.

I might have 20

or more weapons here.

[chuckles softly]

Like another 15 or 20

at the other spot

where I got my other weapons at.

Hell, there's ten in this box.

What, what'd they say?

Pray for peace, prepare for w*r?

[bluesy music playing]

[train tire screech]

[Dakota] While awaiting trial,

Stewart has been held

in a Washington, D.C. jail.

He's been sending out

recorded statements.

[Stewart]

This is Stewart Rhodes,

founder of Oath Keepers.

I'm speaking to you

from solitary confinement.

I've been held

in solitary confinement

for nine months now

on 22-hour-a-day lockdown.

I only get out of my cell

two hours a day.

Some of my co-defendants

have been

held in solitary confinement

for 18 months, awaiting trial.

You could look at the endurance

of Nelson Mandela,

who was in prison for 20 years,

and he maintained his innocence

and did not bend the knee.

So that's my model.

That's what I intend to do.

Our show trial begins next week.

I do not expect a fair trial.

We will still fight,

and with God's grace

perhaps God can touch the hearts

and minds of the jurors

to open their eyes to the truth

and give them the courage

to do what's right.

God bless America.

[Dakota] In 2018,

in the isolation

of our Montana home...

-[pensive music playing]

-...we, his family,

had become imprisoned

with Stewart,

along with his all-consuming,

ever-increasing

amounts of crazy.

As per Stewart's orders,

we maintained

operational security.

No one,

even inside Oath Keepers,

knew what was happening

in our home.

Alone in a house filled

with enough paranoia

and weaponry

to start a small w*r,

something had to change.

[tense music playing]

[Dakota] We had this plan

fully developed

for a long time scale

before we started to think

that our mom might be on board.

[Tasha] They brought me

into what they called

their kid meetings,

and just sort of told me,

"You got to get out of this."

And they could help.

Stewart was becoming

increasingly unstable,

and was talking about

moving us to Alaska.

So the worst-case scenario

became, in the near future,

being in the hills somewhere,

much more isolated

and much farther away

from escape

than we were at the time.

[Tasha] It took me about six

months to find an attorney...

because nobody

wanted to deal with this.

In October...

2017, I finally found one.

We met with her,

and we made a plan.

We jokingly,

in kind of a fit of dark humor,

called it

the "Trying Not to Die Plan."

[Dakota]

We had set things in motion

that were not cancelable.

My mom had filed for divorce,

and we had gotten

the paperwork together

to file

for the restraining order.

The retainer on the lawyer

had been paid.

We'd been smuggling g*ns

out of the house

to sell for the down payment

on the attorney,

and for living expenses

in the immediate aftermath.

And none of that

could be taken back.

[Tasha] My attorney filed

for divorce on February 9th...

and then we made a plan

to try to get out

the night of the 12th,

because we thought

there was a good chance

the sheriff would serve

the divorce papers to him

that next day,

is what my attorney thought.

And she said, you know,

you make your escape and you go,

you file for the temporary

restraining order.

So...

I did everything

I could to get him

in the best mood possible.

The night before,

we went on a little date.

We had a romantic evening.

[sighs]

Everything was set.

And I got really hit

with this feeling of...

[sighs]

"Why do we have to do this?"

Maybe we could just not do it,

and everything

could just stay the same.

And I set the plates

on the table.

And we had a normal dinner

and everything.

And everything's going to change

the next day. And I really...

I kept thinking...

"I hope we all live

through this."

"I hope we all live

through this."

[foreboding music playing]

[Dakota] All of this planning

that had gone into it.

And on the final day,

Stewart woke up at 4:00 a.m.

in a manic frenzy.

So, at the time that

we should have been

slipping out

while he was asleep,

and doing the last loading

of the truck before dawn,

Stewart was rampaging

around the house,

frantically rearranging

survival gear.

[thudding]

[Tasha] We were like,

"There's no way

-he's gonna go to bed."

-[glass breaking]

[Tasha] So, we just said,

"We're going to take this

broken oven," whatever it was,

"to the dump."

"We'll load it up in the truck

and take it to the dump."

And we acted like

it was just Dakota and I,

but the kids were all hiding

in Dakota's truck.

[truck engine rumbling]

[Dakota] At the last second,

Stewart ran out onto the porch

and started yelling

from the porch

as we were pulling out

into the driveway.

[Tasha]

We thought we were caught.

Like, what do we do?

Do we floor it and run?

But we didn't. We stopped.

And he said,

"Hey, pick up some steaks

on your way home."

[laughs]

And...

"Okay, okay, we'll do that."

And I just drove out.

And...

I applied for

a temporary restraining order.

I walked into

the police department here,

and they said... [clicks tongue]

"Best bet,

get back in your car...

go on back to your husband,

and pretend none of this

ever happened."

"That's the best thing

you can do right now."

"That's the best thing."

"We're not really

equipped to deal with this."

"And you're in the middle

of a divorce."

"A restraining order has to go

through the court system."

"That's not something

we can do here." [inhales]

So, they told me

I had to go up to Libby,

which, you know, that's a two

and a half hour drive...

over the mountains in February.

[chuckles softly]

So, we did that.

And I went

into the justice court,

and I filled out the form.

And then, they said,

"Yeah,

this isn't going to work."

[chuckles] And so, then I went

to the district court,

and I filled out their form.

And they said,

"Well, we'll let you know."

Ultimately, the restraining

order was denied.

When we did go back

to the house,

Stewart was gone.

He never came back.

But we felt scared.

So, we stayed up in shifts.

And we just took turns

guarding the living room

with a r*fle. [chuckles]

Like, I feel proud of myself

for all of the hard work

that went into arranging

that and facilitating it.

And I feel proud of Stewart's

profound sense of betrayal

that he expressed

to many people after the fact.

And I worked that angle.

I would send him,

like, flattering,

ego-stroking text messages

about the important work

he was doing

and how I was praying

that he would stay safe,

so that he would keep

his mood buoyed up

while he was out

on Oath Keepers operations

and stay longer with the bros

and give us more time to act.

Like, I faked it...

for that two years. [sniffles]

and put on the world's

greatest facade of being...

a true and loyal son,

and true believer.

[reporter] The founder

of the far-right Oath Keepers

organization,

Stewart Rhodes has testified

-in his own defense today...

-[soft music playing]

...at his seditious conspiracy

trial here in Washington.

Elmer Stewart Rhodes

is coming across as a smart,

articulate person.

He's trying

to establish a rapport

and trying to tell the jury

a little bit about who he is.

[Tasha sighs]

Well, him taking

the stand makes me,

I don't know,

it makes me nervous.

It makes me nervous

for multiple reasons.

I know he thinks

he can sway people.

He thinks

he's a traveling preacher.

And he's going to... [chuckles]

He's going to save himself.

Just trying to pick and choose

what I'm selling in here.

I'm about at the end of things.

I've got no child support.

So, I'm bringing in

some magazines, and...

hope that'll bring in

some money,

and going to try to sell

some of these g*ns.

But honestly,

they're just in such bad shape.

I don't know if they're

gonna wanna buy them.

They were Stewart's

when we were married.

Honestly, these are the ones

he left behind.

[recorder beeps]

[Stewart] No matter how long

they imprison us,

we will maintain our innocence.

And I think it's important

for us to not give an inch

and to always maintain

the legitimacy of a protest,

and the illegitimacy

of this post-constitution,

fraudulent regime.

And you're going

to face betrayal.

Christ was betrayed.

He suffered false witnesses.

Keep your perspective

about your mission.

Do not give up is the ambition.

[Tasha] When you're trying

to keep yourself safe,

and you're in a really

unsafe situation...

it feels like

you have two options.

You can hide.

And... you can hide

and stay very hidden.

Or... you can be very,

very out front in public

so that everybody's watching.

And it seemed like hiding

wasn't really an option for us.

[TV host] My next guest knows

the Oath Keepers

better than just about anyone.

Tasha Adams is married to

and estranged from Oath Keeper

leader Stewart Rhodes.

Every moment

he wasn't personally

terrorizing us as a family,

he was preparing to terrorize

the rest of the nation.

He believes that

he is sort of a chosen person.

And I think he believes

he almost has magical powers,

so that he can...

[chuckles] He's chosen

to rise up and be this...

what my kids mockingly call

"The King of The Apocalypse."

[chuckles]

What do you want the world

to know about him?

I want them to know

he's dangerous.

He's a monster.

Every moment

was about manipulation.

Every moment was about

controlling the fear.

[bell ringing]

[Tasha] After they did

a series of interviews,

I noticed a coldness

around town.

Because I didn't just

call out Stewart,

I called out the movement.

And most people feel

very supportive of January 6th.

The cashiers weren't

asking me about my day.

Maybe roll their eyes

and just like,

"What do you want?"

You know, I turned my back

on my husband,

and I'm supposed

to be supporting him

in this difficult time,

and one day I'll get mine.

So, I got a lot

of messages like that.

I mean, he was digging tunnels

to run from the feds

in my yard

long before Bundy Ranch.

So, even the FBI asked me, like,

"What was he digging

the tunnels for?"

"Who was he running from?"

I have no idea.

I need him at least put away

until the kids are safe,

until the kids... the youngest

kid turns 18. That's ten years.

So, that's what

I need out of it,

is for him to be

put away that long.

[TV host] In court documents,

it's noted that you testified

that he would often brandish

firearms in the family home.

Maybe it's because

I was born in Vegas. [inhales]

It's like betting

on something, right?

I put it all, I bet everything

on him being locked away

forever. [breathes shakily]

[birds chirping]

[solemn music playing]

[TV host] How important

is the outcome

for how this is viewed?

I can't believe it.

I think he's a true believer

that's been set up

this whole time.

[reporter] This has to

result in a conviction,

because much more than the law,

we're talking about

a fight for the soul

of this nation.

[Tasha] Notifications again.

[gasps]

Hey, guys, there's a verdict.

We don't know what it is yet.

The judge says,

"We have received a note

from our jury that simply says,

'Verdict reached.'" [sniffles]

Wait. Wait. Hold on.

Are they reading it?

No. That can't be.

Is that right?

[sighs]

[sobs]

"Stewart..." [sobs]

"Stewart Ross is found guilty

of seditious conspiracy."

[sniffles, chuckles]

-Oh, sh*t. [groans]

-[somber music playing]

[sobs]

The government's evidence showed

that almost immediately

following

the November 2020 election,

defendant Stewart Rhodes,

the founder and leader

of the Oath Keepers,

began planning

to oppose by force

the peaceful transfer of power.

[reporter]

The jury was told that Rhodes

desperately tried

to get in touch with

then-President Trump

after the 2020 election

to convince him

to seize voting machines

and invoke the Insurrection Act

to stay in power.

He needs to know from you

that you are with him,

that he does not do it now

while he is Commander in Chief.

We're going to have to do it

ourselves later

in a much more desperate,

much more bloody w*r.

Let's get it on now

while he is still

the Commander in Chief. Hooah!

[reporter 1] "We aren't

getting through this

without a civil w*r."

He said days after

the insurrection that, quote,

"My only regret is that

they should have

brought r*fles."

"We could have fixed it

right there and then."

[reporter 2]

Eighteen years.

That is the sentence

a federal judge

handed down

to Elmer Stewart Rhodes.

In delivering the sentence,

Judge Amit Mehta

said Rhodes presents

an ongoing threat

and a peril to this country

and to the republic

and to the very fabric

of this democracy.

[dramatic music playing]

[Dakota] Shortly after

his conviction,

we had the final

divorce hearing,

and Stewart never logged into

his Zoom link from prison.

With this one last no-show,

my mom was finally divorced.

Freedom from Stewart

released us, his family,

from his views,

although escaping

the apocalyptic thinking

he drilled into us is much,

much harder.

And apocalyptic thinking is now

everywhere,

alongside newer, more extreme

versions of Stewart.

You swore an oath

to uphold the Constitution

of the United States.

Get your hands off the g*n.

[Dakota] Like Mike Dunn,

who was only 19

when he helped to popularize

the militia group,

the Boogaloo Boys.

-Stop pushing me!

-[officer] You're pushing me.

[Alex] Mike Dunn is a well-known

Boogaloo boy,

a constitutional adherent,

20-year-old former

Trump-supporter-

turned-libertarian.

I guess he was

in the Marines too as well.

-So, Mike, thanks for coming on.

-[Mike] Thank you, Alex.

To start with,

we see people like you, Alex,

who... used to be my hero

as a young man,

we see y'all bendin'

the knee repeatedly.

You have your talk shows,

you give your speeches,

but y'all don't actually

stand against tyranny,

and that's disheartening

as a young man.

The idea that you portray

and the message that you carry

-sometimes tend to look like...

-[epic music playing]

...you're just there

to create merch.

But your generation

and the ones before you,

they put it on

my generation's heads.

My generation didn't stand down.

It's the fact that you're doing

the same thing

that's been done for years,

and it's not

accomplishing anything.

The only thing that's gonna

accomplish it

is forcing a revolution.

I am not doing the same thing.

I'm not Democrat, Republican.

I'm exposing

the globalist program.

Do you understand

that information is powerful?

They're scared of it?

You're talking.

That's all you're doing.

You're doing the same thing

that's been done

for years, brother.

We're done talking.

We're done doing all of this.

We're going to go out there

and take a stand next.

As horrible as w*r is,

if they want a w*r,

let it begin with us

because our fathers didn't.

No offense, Alex,

but your generation didn't.

And so our children

don't have to.

We see it as,

there has to be a revolution.

[g*nshots]

[Dakota] For Mike, the police

are part of the problem

and therefore a target.

He and his group

arrange protests

with the aim of provoking them

into a response.

[indistinct chatter]

[Mike] We have one million

police officers in the US

who are funded like a military,

armed like a military,

equipped like a military,

trained like a military,

and act like

professional military units.

We might as well

prepare for w*r with them.

They are the standing army

that our forefathers

warned against.

Are we all in agreement

that nobody gets arrested today?

-We all in agreement on that?

-[man clears throat]

-[man] Absolutely.

-[Mike] Good. So,

if a police officer begins

to harass any one of you

or attempt to arrest you,

I will put myself physically

between that officer and you.

At that point,

if they proceeded,

a warning would be given.

And after that, y'all know

that we will defend ourselves

within the protected rights

enshrined in the Constitution.

Either we all come home

or nobody comes home.

We've got several boys

coming out

that have had

their wills notarized.

I've written notes

to my loved ones

and let them know where

to find them

if I don't make it home.

And certain people

that mean a lot to me

will receive notes from me

if I don't make it home.

And... I mean,

as prepared as we can be,

I reckon, so.

[Dakota] I could easily

have been Mike...

had I followed

my father's ambition.

[indistinct chatter]

[reporter] In a defiant protest

against the arrest of four men

who carried firearms

to a school board building,

the Boogaloo Boys assembled

at the same property

with more men and larger g*ns.

They were effectively

daring the police

to try to arrest them.

Ultimately, no police officers

responded to the scene.

I figured the sheriff's office

would show up a lot.

I figured they'd show up here.

Maybe they're just

lettin' y'all be.

[bluesy music playing]

[Dakota] For Stewart,

and maybe Dunn too,

an apocalyptic future seems

to actually make more sense

than the one

we are currently living in.

It's about control,

security, and I suppose,

a fear of the unknown.

[Mike] Now we got a guy

with a speaker and a microphone

coming up here.

[Dakota] But America

is the land of the free.

What could be more uncontrolled

or unknown than that?

[protestor 1] Mike Dunn,

you're a sh*t-talking,

loud-mouthed

little dumpy m*therf*cker.

f*ck you and f*ck the police.

-f*ck the police.

-Police are good, man.

No, they're not.

No police are good.

All cops are bad.

-We're gonna have to disagree.

-We're gonna have to disagree.

-But we all dislike Mike Dunn.

-[protestor 3] Me and you

gonna have a problem

if you say, "f*ck the police."

[protestor 1]

Well, f*ck the police, sir.

-There are good people here.

-No, they're not.

-All cops are b*stards.

-[protestor 2] Where are they?

Where are they for this guy?

[protestor 1] Why are they

not doing anything?

[protestor 2] Where are they

here to get him

off the school property?

[protestor 1] Where's your cops

doing something?

[protestor 2]

Yet again, Mike Dunn

gets to break the wall.

-[protestor 3] Call them.

-[protestor 1] You call them.

You call them.

Your law enforcement is allowing

these men to stand on

your school property with g*ns.

You think the police need

to come arrest me for talking?

-Guys, relax. Smoke a joint.

-[protestor 2] We love the cops.

And then Mike Dunn tells 'em

how much he loves 'em...

[protestor 1] Don't tell me

what to do. f*ck you.

..."Tyrannical government.

It's a tyrannical government."

"We love you."

[indistinct chatter]

Well, I am happy he's exercising

his right to protest,

and I support that 100 percent.

[protestor 1] f*ck Mike Dunn!

[Dakota] For Stewart,

the future he seemed to want

actually looked

a lot more like the past.

And I'm not sure that living

in an imagined bygone world

where men are men

would really suit me.

[solemn music playing]

[Dakota] Now, I can decide

who I want to be

and what I want to believe in.

So, I've chosen to lightly

engage with politics.

I'm doing some canvassing

for some Independent

and Democrat candidates.

It gives me a chance to see

what people really feel

about things.

[birds chirping]

[dog barking]

[Dakota sighs] Okay.

Nobody home,

which seems to be...

I am showing up

when no one is home about

three-quarters of the time.

Hello.

[interviewee] Take them

Democrats and shove them

right up your f*cking a*s.

[Dakota] Do you want me

to leave a flyer?

-[interviewee] Absolutely not.

-All right.

-[interviewee] A Dumbocrat.

-All right.

[interviewee] Bullshit.

[Dakota]

Well, you have a good evening.

[pensive music playing]

[Trump]

Take a look at your cities.

Your cities are going to hell.

You take a look at

what's going on.

They're filthy dirty.

They're crime-ridden.

And an entire generation

of young people

could very well be decimated.

And it'll never happen with me,

I can tell you that.

-It will never happen with me.

-[crowd cheering]

And if I win,

we will treat those people

from January 6th fairly.

We will treat them fairly.

And if it requires pardons,

we will give them pardons.

[Tasha] I have definitely

been keeping

the idea of a Trump victory,

not just in the back

of my mind, but... [sighs]

...that whole idea is something

I've been completely ignoring.

Yeah, the idea

that he could be pardoned.

Yeah.

But if... You know.

That was a big bet,

and I could still lose.

[Trump] Friends, delegates,

and fellow citizens,

we will have

an incredible victory,

and we will begin

-the four greatest years...

-[crowd cheering]

...in the history of

our country.

That sucks.

[Dakota] Stewart would

most likely say

that him being a threat

to us is laughable.

But after the years

of apocalyptic anxiety

he drilled into us, it's hardly

surprising we feel this way.

Even as a little kid,

I was extremely conscious of...

not having the connection

that I wanted with my father.

When I wouldn't say

the right things

or respond in the right way

and he would get upset,

I thought that was something

wrong with me,

and that just got

worse with time.

It left me

with a lifelong feeling

of being defective

and inadequate.

I've struggled

to make connections

and make friends and interact

with people in regular life.

In point of fact,

for a long time,

I was actively suicidal.

[foreboding music playing]

[Dakota] I looked up a chart

of the exact angle

for sh**ting yourself

with a p*stol to make sure

that you don't

accidentally survive

with a hole through

the back of your neck

and a spinal cord

or a brain injury.

And I saved that to my computer,

and that was my plan

for the next step

for after I made sure

that the rest of my family

was okay.

Because I was so afraid

of becoming like Stewart

that I didn't think that

I was ever going to be happy

in life as myself anyway.

[crowd chanting] USA! USA! USA!

[soft music playing]

[train horn blaring]

[Tasha] I don't know

what the future holds.

All I know is

I won't run and hide,

and neither will my kids.

I thought, maybe I just need

to start again.

And this sounds

a little radical,

but I threw out

everything I owned,

and I moved into a really

generic Airbnb with two boxes

and a trash bag of clothes,

and that's it.

And I never felt so peaceful

because I just wanted to just...

not be this Tasha and that Tasha

and not be everywhere

spreading myself thin,

trying to make safe spaces

and umbrellas for everyone.

I just wanted

to shut it all down

and just kind of restart.

And... Dakota's finally...

finding a place

where he can be himself.

[music playing on radio]

[indistinct chatter]

[Tasha] And he can do

what he's good at.

I tried to tell ya

Or she won't buy me

No rubber dolly

[Dakota] Hey. Good to see you.

Yeah, thanks for coming out.

All right, thank you all

for coming out. It's...

It was certainly something

opening the door

and seeing everybody in here.

A lot of you do know me,

but just briefly for people

that I'm meeting tonight

for the first time,

my name is Dakota Adams.

I am the estranged eldest son

of Elmer Stewart Rhodes,

the founder and president

of Oath Keepers

and one of the ringleaders for

the January 6th insurrection.

And my family

has been in the area

since we moved to Trego

to wait out the apocalypse.

Hasn't happened yet.

I am applying to be

your representative

in the Montana State Legislature

to extend the ideals

of community service

and civic responsibility.

[crowd applauding]

[somber music playing]

[Dakota] So, this is the part

of the film where,

with rousing music,

I emerge heroically

as a Democrat.

I think overall

I fit better with them.

What I believe in

is collaborative government,

cooperative government

that is not some

distant antagonistic force

strange to you but a structure

put together by you, the people.

Stewart used to give speeches

where he would say,

"Trust no one. In the end,

you only have yourself."

But treating everyone

as the enemy is exhausting

and just makes paranoia worse.

So, I choose to try

and live my life without fear.

[Tasha]

You're really good at this.

I hope so!

To engage with people...

and maybe use my experience

to help bring

some understanding.

And whatever happens

with Stewart,

this time,

I'm choosing to live in a world

without the apocalypse

as my future.

Until next time.

This is Dakota Adams,

signing off.

["Ring of Fire" playing]

-[cameraman] Thanks, Dakota.

-[Dakota] All righty.

Well, I hope you are happy

with the footage.

I kind of think that I'm never

going to put this on again.

I think I...

I meant to have sold it.

-Bound by wild desire

-[grunts]

I fell in

To your ring of fire

I fell into

A burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames got higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

The ring of fire

Let me burn

In your ring of fire

Look out, baby

And the flame went higher

And higher and higher

Let me burn

In the ring of fire

Let me burn, baby

The fire burns

And the fire learns

Oh, I'm burning

Away now, baby

Burning up

In the ring of fire

Well, I'm burning...

[music concludes]