Oath Keepers leader secretly supported bizarre lawsuit advocating for 'Lord of the Rings'-style government: report

After multiple failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and his far-right extremist associates had another idea to bring former President Donald Trump's sordid dream to fruition.

According to The Daily Beast, their ideas were detailed in a bizarre lawsuit that "went off the rails almost as soon as it hit the courts, with the lead attorney citing The Lord of the Rings as legal precedent." Days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, Rhodes and other paramilitary members joined forces to file a federal lawsuit in hopes of overturning the election.

The initial lawsuit was reportedly compiled by Oath Keepers' former general counsel Kellye SoRelle and Paul Davis, a Texas attorney who attended the Jan. 6 "Save America" rally to “collect evidence” on behalf of “one or more of the Plaintiffs.”

Per The Beast:

"The full scope of the Oath Keeper’s shadow legal effort, largely spearheaded by the group’s then-general counsel Kellye SoRelle, stretched back well before the riot, according to multiple people involved. In fact, it ran on a parallel track alongside the paramilitary-style buildup that has defined the militia’s role, and it roped in a number of key Jan. 6 figures along the way—including people tied to the Proud Boys and First Amendment Praetorians."

The lawsuit also highlighted aspects of "The Lord of the Rings" as an example of how government should be run.

“During the course of the epic trilogy, the rightful King of Gondor had abandoned the throne,” the lawsuit explained. “Since only the rightful king could sit on the throne of Gondor, a steward was appointed to manage Gondor until the return of the King, known as ‘Aragorn,’ occurred at the end of the story."

To make matters worse, the lawsuit continued: “This analogy is applicable since there is now in Washington, D.C., a group of individuals calling themselves the President, Vice President, and Congress who have no rightful claim to govern the American People."

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Rick Hasen, a renowned law expert with an emphasis on elections, weighed in with his take on the lawsuit describing it as "absurd."

“I don’t know the fact that he was one of many who joined this absurd lawsuit is all that significant compared to the other, more immediately dangerous things that he did,” Hasen said.