Punk Band Responds After Former Oath Keeper Wears Its Shirt At Jan. 6 Hearing

Ben Blanchet
·2 min read
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A punk band isn’t rocking with the former Oath Keeper spokesperson who decided to wear the group’s shirt to a hearing Tuesday before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The Descendents, an influential group of rockers known for albums like “Milo Goes to College” and “All,” weighed in on Jason Van Tatenhove sporting their merch during his testimony on the extremist group’s involvement in the Capitol attack.

Van Tatenhove, who claimed he left the group years before the attack, citing in particular members’ antisemitic rhetoric, detailed how he saw the group drifting “further and further right into the alt-right world, into white nationalists and even straight-up racists.”

He also warned of the “genuine danger” that extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers ― whom he described as a violent “militia” ― pose to America.

His shirt featured the cartoon character Milo, a mascot for the band inspired by lead singer Milo Aukerman and included on a number of the band’s album covers.

The band, via its Twitter account, swiftly separated itself from the group Van Tatenhove once spoke for.

“We completely disavow groups like the Oath Keepers and in no way condone their hateful ideology,” the band wrote in a tweet.

The statement sparked questions from fans and Twitter users who wondered how a former Oath Keeper could be “punk.”

The band hasn’t shied away from weighing in on the state of the U.S. in the past.

Aukerman, in the song ”’Merican,” expresses his disdain with America being the “land of the slaves,” the Ku Klux Klan and former U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy.

He closes the song with “I’m proud and ashamed every Fourth of July. You got to know the truth before you say that you got pride.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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