# An interview with Stewart Rhodes' ex-wife and son (he was the insurrection leader) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 1, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879 "2022-12-01T21:00:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/1 "2022-12-01T21:00:39Z")
This is about 16 minutes in length, done by the BBC, and very much worth watching even though it isn’t pleasant. One thing I found really disturbing was the way the son spoke, and halfway through it, I realized that it resembled the speech patterns of the Turpin sisters on their “20/20” interview a while back. If you don’t know, the Turpins had about 15 children who were raised in horrific conditions and basically held hostage all their lives, and one of them managed to find a cell phone, which she knew how to use enough to call 911. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/G4IpvC1hv14/maxresdefault.jpg "Stewart Rhodes' son: ‘How I escaped my father’s militia’ - BBC News") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4IpvC1hv14) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/2 "2022-12-01T23:29:00Z")
I heard on Lawrence O’Donnell last night that one reason he is such an angry dude is that he despises his real first name (Elmer). Okay, a little out of date I’ll grant you, but no reason to get so unglued. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/3 "2022-12-01T23:32:38Z")
Here’s a more complete story, also from the BBC. > **[Stewart Rhodes' son: ‘How I escaped my father’s militia’](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63709446)** > > Militia leader Stewart Rhodes could face two decades in prison. It took his son years to escape him. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/4 "2022-12-01T23:38:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > he despises his real first name (Elmer). Tell him Gaylord Perry died today, then get back to me. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/5 "2022-12-01T23:43:44Z")
Gaylord Perry was Dick Trickle’s favorite pitcher. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/6 "2022-12-02T00:21:25Z")
Wow. What a scary shitshow. But Dakota, the son, sounds like a solid, sensible young man with his head firmly on his shoulders, and a not-inconsiderable amount of courage. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/7 "2022-12-02T00:29:03Z")
I’m going to contribute to this threadjack by stating that Mr. Perry bought a vintage issue of Sports Illustrated from me a while back, one with his picture on the cover. I’ve also sold a couple of books to their own authors, from my Amazon business. Now, let’s resume our regularly scheduled programming. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/8 "2022-12-02T00:36:47Z")
He knew that what he was doing could cost him and his mother and siblings their lives. I’m assuming that whenever Stewart (notice he called him that, and not Dad) was gone, he made sure they had no money, telephone, or means of transportation. In the interview, she mentions that since he’s going to prison, she won’t be getting any child support, but c’mon, did she really think she would be getting it anyway from someone like him? OTOH, maybe he’ll die\* in prison and she can get Social Security benefits for the remaining minor children. \*which they probably hoped would happen when he shot his eye out ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/9 "2022-12-02T02:24:41Z")
And here’s a link about his earlier life. TL : DR - he went to college with HER education fund, and not surprisingly, when they met, he was 25 and she was 18 and Mormon. He also made her work as a stripper because she could make more money doing that than teaching ballroom dance, her previous occupation. (And I personally wouldn’t be surprised if he beat her up every time she came home from the club, because of all the other men who were looking at her.) > **[Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes' path: From Yale to jail](https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-founder-jan-6-trial-4372b311695c401255c6881111ff4f41)** > > PHOENIX (AP) — Long before he assembled one of the largest far-right anti-government militia groups in U.S. I also saw in another story that some of the children didn’t have birth certificates. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/10 "2022-12-02T02:47:21Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > real first name (Elmer). Okay, a little out of date I’ll grant you, but no reason to get so unglued. _golf clap_ ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/11 "2022-12-02T15:48:59Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > which they probably hoped would happen when he shot his eye out Is that why they gave him that Daisy Red Rider, with the compass in the stock, for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/12 "2022-12-02T17:00:27Z")
I agree, ex-wife and son come across as very capable and level-headed, especially given the incredible stress they endured. I was stricken by the absence of any description of themselves as “victims,” or any mention of PTSD/anxiety/depression… They seem like very strong individuals. It is impressive how much stress humans can endure. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/13 "2022-12-07T01:51:00Z")
I’ll ask here: how do you shoot out your eye without hitting your brain? Unlucky on the eye, but lucky with the million to one trajectory? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/14 "2022-12-07T02:02:13Z")
Sideswipe breaking optical orbit, with bone shard going into eye? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/15 "2024-03-28T22:55:32Z")
The oldest son, now 27, has changed his name to Dakota Adams, and is running for the Montana legislature as a Democrat. Go for it, kiddo! > **[The son of Stewart Rhodes, founder of the extremist Oath Keepers, has decided...](https://www.businessinsider.com/oath-keepers-founders-son-running-democrat-montana-2024-3)** > > Dakota Adams, the son Stewart Rhodes, founder of the extremist Oath Keepers, has decided to enter politics as aDemocratic candidate. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interview-with-stewart-rhodes-ex-wife-and-son-he-was-the-insurrection-leader/975879/16 "2025-01-23T00:21:52Z")
And now Mr. Eye Patch is out of prison, his sentenced commuted.