Members of the Oath Keepers gathered at a Vienna, Virginia, Olive Garden after the events of January 6, 2021. They spent $408.82 at the home of the Never Ending Pasta Bowl, NBC News’ Ryan Reilly reports from the seditious conspiracy trial for several members of the far-right group:
The latest from the Oath Keepers trial:
Stewart Rhodes told people to go to the Olive Garden on Jan. 6 via Signal.
Oath Keeper Ed Vallejo called the Olive Garden around 9:00 PM on Jan. 6, presumably for reservations.
The Oath Keepers spent $408.82 at the Olive Garden.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 1, 2022
According to a court document filed in April, a person who reportedly unwittingly accompanied Oath Keeper Edward Vallejo on a cross-country trip alongside a large cache of weapons met Oath Keeper honcho Stewart Rhodes, Vallejo, and five other people at an Olive Garden in Vienna. The person didn’t remember much about the restaurant, other than that it was a “”far drive away” and that the server was “being a pain about wearing masks.”
Washingtonian has no particular issue with choosing the Olive Garden for a retro about a failed violent insurrection—the city’s sole TGI Fridays closed in 2018, after all—but on January 6, 2021, DC still offered several convenient destinations for Trumpy diners, including Trump’s former hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest.
If those spots were busy or overrun with nosy federal agents—sure, cross the Potomac! The Cheesecake Factory in Clarendon was the site of the region’s most prominent recent riot before January 6. It’s also a lot more convenient to the Arlington hotel where the group allegedly stored its weapons.
Correction: This post originally said the court document was filed Tuesday. It was filed in April.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
