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On a chilly, drizzly fall afternoon in Eureka, Montana—a small town of about 1,380 people—Tasha Adams makes her way home, passing low clouds settling into the surrounding mountains. The greens of summer have turned to rust as Adams, dressed in blue scrubs, walks up Main Street. She’s just finished a long shift at a local medical facility, her first full-time job after years of part-time work. Today, one of her sons wasn’t available to pick her up, so she’s walking the 30 minutes home, clutching a coffee bought by “a kind stranger who felt sorry for me.”
Eureka’s small-town landmarks line her path: the welcome sign, the Exxon station on Tobacco Road, the Town Hall, a couple of thrift stores, and Jax Café with the smell of pancakes wafting out. At the top of the hill, Adams takes a break on a worn bench where layers of paint reveal years of use. “I sit here because this is the only store around here with Democratic owners,” she says. “And it’s a good place to rest and think.”
Adams has a lot weighing on her mind. The presidential election is just a few weeks away, and while many are concerned about the direction of American democracy, Adams fears for her own safety and that of her six children. Sixteen months earlier, her estranged husband, Elmer Stewart Rhodes—founder of the Oath Keepers—was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, with federal prosecutors contending his group aimed to topple democracy itself.
Rhodes’s conviction had been a long-awaited relief for Adams and her children, bringing them a sense of safety they hadn’t felt in years. They said his imprisonment marked the end of decades of abuse and fear. But now, with former President Donald Trump promising to pardon many involved in the January 6 insurrection if he returns to office, Adams’s peace of mind is fading. She worries that Rhodes, who has always kept a mental “kill list,” could target her or her children if he’s released.
In interviews near her Eureka home, Adams and her son, Dakota, shared their anxieties and plans if a pardon allows Rhodes to walk free. Dakota, 27, expressed disbelief in any real protection from the law and believes he’d need to get his younger siblings out of the country if Rhodes is released. They also shared memories of years under Rhodes’s control, detailing years of alleged abuse, manipulation, and a growing extremism that culminated in his role in the January 6 insurrection.
Adams’s marriage to Rhodes had started with promise but devolved over time. Meeting in a dance class in Las Vegas, she was first charmed by Rhodes’s intelligence and wit, but his behavior grew increasingly paranoid and controlling. Rhodes’s obsessions intensified with his founding of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia that rose to prominence during the Trump era. While he pursued his career, Adams worked multiple jobs, including as an exotic dancer, to support the family. Despite the Oath Keepers’ success, Adams and her children struggled in their isolated Montana cabin, barely scraping by while Rhodes traveled the country and amassed weapons.
Adams and Dakota recall that by 2016, life in the cabin had become dangerous. Rhodes’s outbursts and paranoia had escalated. Adams began making detailed plans to escape, which she and her children finally did in 2018. She filed for divorce and obtained a protective order, seeking to distance the family from Rhodes’s world of conspiracies and violence.
For a time, Rhodes’s conviction and lengthy sentence offered a respite. But the 2024 election has brought renewed fear. Trump’s repeated vows to pardon January 6 rioters and Rhodes’s potential release cast a shadow over the fragile security Adams and her children had fought to secure.
Both Tasha and Dakota continue to navigate the aftermath, with Dakota recently deciding to run for local office as a way to channel his experiences into advocacy. But their hopes remain tempered by the unpredictable forces of politics and Rhodes’s unyielding influence.
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