Charles Dyer was a Tea Party activist and a spokesperson for the Oath Keepers. He recorded videos in his Marine Corps uniform under the handle July4Patriot and was described as representing Oath Keepers in event materials. Of course, they tried to distance themselves when he was charged with and convicted of raping his six-year-old daughter.
When police first arrested him, they found a rocket launcher that had been stolen. He was charged with knowingly possessing an unregistered rocket launcher. This ex-Marine argued with a straight face that he didn’t know it was a rocket launcher. The nullifying jury acquitted him.
He has become a cause-célèbre among the nationalist right. He claims he was prosecuted for his extremist views. Much is made of the first trial ending in a hung jury and the second being dismissed without a verdict because the prosecutor mailed forms to the jury. However, he was convicted and sentenced to thirty years. To this day, there are advocates proclaiming he is a political prisoner.
- Case Text: Dyer vs. Farris
- The Duncan Banner: Dyer found guilty, gets 30 years
- Daily Kos: The rise and fall of ‘July4Patriot’ Charles Dyer, the Oath Keepers’ original far-right celebrity
- SPLC: Oklahoma Oath Keeper Convicted of Six-Year-Old Daughter’s Rape
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma · Monday, August 22, 2011