During today’s testimonials for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a former spokesman for the far-right militia Oath Keepers delivered his statements while sporting a t-shirt for punk band The Descendents. In response, the band tweeted: “We completely disavow groups like the Oath Keepers and in no way condone their hateful ideology.”
We completely disavow groups like the Oath Keepers and in no way condone their hateful ideology.
— DESCENDENTS (@descendents) July 12, 2022
Many people flocked to social media to show their distaste for Jason Van Tatenhove’s attire (he was also wearing a Deftones pin) and pointed to the hypocrisy of the move.
The longtime Los Angeles hardcore punk band are known for their irreverent songs about farting and nerds, but also address political topics in songs like “‘Merican” which condemn slavery and the Vietnam war.
Damon Krukowski, former Galaxie 500 member and writer, tweeted: “[Representative] Jamie Raskin [of Maryland] promoted a Mission of Burma show on Harvard campus my freshman year, 1981. It’s possible these are the only two in the room who know the Descendants.”
Another Twitter user wrote, “[Descendents] do not stand for what he stands for. Dude needs to give another listen to their song ‘‘Merican.’”
Jamie Raskin promoted a Mission of Burma show on Harvard campus my freshman year, 1981. It’s possible these are the only two in the room who know the Descendants pic.twitter.com/1ER33ZUz12
— Damon K (@dada_drummer) July 12, 2022
Van Tatenhove testified before the House committee about the Jan. 6 insurrection against the United States government, telling the congressional committee that “we’ve gotten exceedingly lucky that more bloodshed did not happen” on that day.
According to MSNBC, Van Tatenhove said he “fears for the next election cycle,” and believes that if Trump were to run again in 2024, he may incite further violence. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is set to go on trial for seditious conspiracy for the Jan. 6 insurrection.
To conclude, Van Tatenhove described the Oath Keepers as a “dangerous” organization and said he left the group when he discovered some of the members were Holocaust deniers.