Infiltrator exposes ex-police detective as key leader of Oath Keepers: report
A leader of the rightwing militia group Oath Keepers USA has been exposed as a former homicide detective in the Las Vegas police department who was disgraced for advocating “race war,” an explosive report claimed on Monday.
The revelations about Robert “Bobby” Kinch came from public records and details collected by an infiltrator in the patriot movement and passed onto the Guardian
The newspaper’s report states the information shows the movement that was central to the January 6 2001 insurrection has grown and is adding multiple members with law-enforcement backgrounds.
“These disclosures show once again how police departments aren’t taking the threat of extremists in the ranks seriously,” Heidi Beirich of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism told the Guardian.
The Guardian’s unnamed source has spent the years since 2021 involved in right-wing militia groups in the Pacific Northwest.
Among the information passed the newspaper were photographs taken inside Kinch’s Utah home in 2023.
Also read: 'Bring it on': Defiant Raskin responds to GOP threats of retaliation for J6 investigation
They show a heavy arsenal of weapons, stockpiled food and tactical and survival gear. The pictures also show awards honoring Kinch’s service in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The material also includes an Oath Keepers Utah membership certificate that has “Bobby Kinch, state leader” printed on it.
The Guardian reported public records for Northbridge Patriots LLC shows Kinch as its president. The news organizations reported the company holds the trademarks for Oath Keepers USA.
The Guardian was unable to reach Kinch for comment.
Kinch’s career in the Las Vegas police department ended after nearly 10 years ago.
Raw Story reported in 2015 that fellow officers found he'd made inflammatory social media posts including, “Let’s just get this over! Race war, Civil, Revolution? Bring it! I’m about as fed up as a man (American, Christian, White, Heterosexual) can get!”
He was suspended in 2014 and an internal investigation found a photo that showed Kinch pointing a gun at an image on Barack Obama.
He was assigned to desk duty and later quit the department, the Guardian reported.
“Robert Kinch voluntarily retired from LVMPD in July of 2016,” LVMPD’s public information officer told the Guardian.
The Oath Keepers’ founder, Stewart Rhodes, is imprisoned for seditious conspiracy in connection with Jan. 6.
