The “Chest-Clenching Fear” of My Ex-Husband’s Jan 6 Commutation

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Podcasts

Business, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Careers, Relationships, Sexuality

4.6 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2023, Anna and On The Media’s Micah Loewinger traveled to Montana to talk to Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Stewart Rhodes, who founded the far-right paramilitary group, the Oath Keepers. Stewart had been charged with seditious conspiracy for his participation in the January 6 Capitol riots, and Tasha was eagerly awaiting sentencing: “I need him to stay locked away so my kids can legally cut contact with him when they’re 18.” Tasha described their decades-long marriage, from their courtship in a ballroom dance class in Las Vegas, to abuse and isolation as Stewart became transfixed on politics and apocalyptic ideas. She and her six kids managed to escape in 2018. And shortly after our conversation there was some good news for Tasha: her divorce was finalized, and Stewart got a long sentence – 18 years. Then Trump was re-elected, and on his first day in office he issued nearly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with Jan. 6. Among them was Stewart. This week we’re replaying our 2023 conversation with Tasha, as well as a portion of a follow-up conversation we recorded with her right before Trump’s inauguration. Watch: Trailer for ‘King of the Apocalypse’ Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, before we get going, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that for many of our listeners in the U.S., it has been a pretty chaotic stretch of days.
0:10.4	There is a lot of uncertainty around how the new presidential administration will affect people's lives.
0:16.7	Executive orders and new interpretations have been coming through quickly, making lots of different people uncertain about what's coming.
0:25.3	Aid workers, federal workers of all kinds, people affected by the immigration system, anyone who depends on programs supported by federal dollars.
0:34.4	A lot is unclear right now.
0:37.1	And if something in your life may be changing in a big way
0:41.6	with the start of the Trump administration, send us a voice memo at death sex money at slate.com
0:48.6	and tell us about it. Are you doing anything differently? And what are you doing to live with the uncertainty?
0:56.5	One person in the death, sex, and money community absorbing a big change is Tasha Adams, who was on the show in 2023.
1:05.4	The year her divorce was finalized from Stuart Rhodes, the founder of the right-wing group, the Oath-keepers.
1:13.0	Stuart was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6th insurrection.
1:18.7	Prosecutors argued that members of the Oathkeepers conspired to use force to block the election results.
1:25.5	He was sentenced to 18 years.
1:30.8	In our 2023 conversation with Tasha,
1:33.5	she talked about how she and Stewart met and how abusive behavior in their relationship
1:36.6	presaged his extreme far-right ideology.
1:40.9	We're going to share some of that with you again today.
1:44.0	And I called Tasha back a few days before Trump's inauguration, along with Michael Loinger, the co-host of WNYC's On the Media.
1:54.0	Tasha told us about how, after Trump won, she felt totally shut down.
1:59.6	I just couldn't even look at it. Got up in the morning, took one
2:04.3	glance at the results before I got up and left for work, saw what happened, and didn't even think
2:08.6	about it again. And I just, I must have had hundreds of messages and media reaching out. And,
	...

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