CINCINNATI – Kroger said the Indiana Oath Keepers, a militia group linked to violence in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, will be removed from their community rewards program immediately.
The Community Rewards program is a “customer-centric donation program that includes thousands of IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) nonprofits,” a company statement said Tuesday. The Oath Keepers had published the Community Rewards program on their website to support the group.
“We were dismayed to learn that this group is now part of the Community Rewards program,” said Kroger’s statement. “Given the worrying nature of the allegations against this organization, we immediately banned the group from receiving customer-facing funding. Kroger has not made any corporate grants or donations to the organization.”
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Oath Keepers are “one of the largest radical anti-government groups in America today”.
On Tuesday, FBI officials said they had foiled an impending conspiracy involving two people from Ohio and a man in Virginia to attack the U.S. Capitol and Ohio statehouse, according to the Associated Press. The FBI collected social media messages, photos, and videos to identify her as part of the Oath Keepers. Donovan Crowl and Jessica Watkins, both from Champaign County, Ohio, were arrested and charged with conspiracy and other state charges.
In addition, the AP reports that photos and videos of violence in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 showed people wearing clothing with symbols associated with the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters movement.
The Oath Keepers can also be found under the similar Amazon Smile program. WCPO reached out to the company for comment but didn’t hear a response Tuesday evening.
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