The California gubernatorial debate took a bizarre turn Tuesday night. It began when Antonio Villaraigosa, the Democratic former mayor of Los Angeles, declared, “We all know Chad Bianco, the Republican sheriff of Riverside County, is an Oath Keeper.
As Raw Story noted, the Oath Keepers are “a far-right American militia that was involved in the January 6 Capitol riots.”
So, it was surprising, to say the least, to hear Bianco respond, “And I’m very proud of it.” He was so proud, apparently, that he literally doubled down and repeated how “very proud of it” he is.
He even tripled down. “You should know what you were swearing and be proud of defending it,” Bianco added.
“I don't think an Oath Keeper is qualified to be governor," Villaraigosa said.
Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra chimed in to call Bianco’s endorsement of the extremists a "chilling answer."
Villaraigosa and Bianco went back and forth on immigration until moderator Kaitlan Collins interrupted to come back to the Oath Keepers topic. “You said you’re a proud Oath Keeper. Are you referring to the group?” she asked Bianco.
Yep, he absolutely was. “I have sworn an oath three times to defend my constitution, yes. And everybody that wants to, like, again lie and emotionally get all spun up about the Oath Keeper organization … I want you to go read the mission statement of the Oath Keeper mission statement [sic]” Bianco replied. “I know none of you have.”
Then Bianco quadrupled down: “I am extremely proud of swearing an oath to defend my constitution against politicians like this,” he said.
It’s one thing to swear an oath to the Constitution, and it’s quite another to swear allegiance to the Oath Keepers. As I have previously written, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy in the January 6, 2021 violent attack on the U.S. Capitol (His sentence was commuted on Donald Trump's first day back in office). The New York Times reported that Rhodes “left a voluminous paper trail of his increasingly violent thoughts” after Trump lost the 2020 election and “said his organization might have to engage in civil war to defeat his perceived enemies: a supposed coalition of the Democrats, leftist protesters, and the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Do you still consider yourself a member of that group?” Collins asked.
“No,” Bianco said, without explanation.
This should immediately disqualify Chad Bianco from going anywhere near the governor’s mansion.
