An online organization called West Point Alumni for Trump, which claims to have more than 750 West Point alumni, has released an open letter (see below) in support of beleaguered fellow alumni, Alaska State Representative David Eastman (R-Wasilla).
Eastman is currently facing an attempt by the leadership in the Alaska State House, spearheaded by Speaker Louise Stutes, to strip him of all legislative committee seats because of his membership in a group called Oathkeepers.
West Point Alumni for Trump – a private Facebook group – issued its letter in response to a November 2021 letter by much smaller group of 70 West Point graduates, which called on Eastman to resign from office due to his membership with OathKeepers. Oathkeepers is a 30,000-plus member organization comprised mostly of former military, law enforcement officers and first responders who have pledged to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.
Oathkeepers has come under fire after its founder, Stewart Rhodes and 10 other members were charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes, who has no criminal history, and never entered the Capitol, has stated that he was communicating with members of his group on Jan. 6 in an effort to “keep them out of trouble,” He said a handful of Oathkeepers who entered the Capitol “went totally off mission.” His trial is set for July.
The letter from 70-West Point alumni who oppose Eastman was spearheaded by a man named Ivan Hodes (a 2005 graduate). It claims that Eastman has “discredited … and betrayed the values of West Point” by being a member of Oathkeepers.
The group supporting Eastman – West Point Alumni for Trump – begs to differ.
“The media up there has taken Mr. Hodes as the voice of all us West Pointers,” said David Cunningham, a founding member and moderator of the group’s Facebook page.
“I don’t want folks to be thinking we are in lockstep as far as agreeing with Mr. Hodes,” he said. “There are in excess of 54,000 living graduates of the academy. The idea that 70-odd people represent us is a concern and kind of laughable when you think about the vanishingly small portion of living graduates that they represent.”
Cunningham said all 750-plus members of his group were individually verified as West Point alumni and have agreed to publishing the letter in support of Eastman. The names of the members are not listed, however, due to concerns about backlash over the letter, Cunningham said.
Independently of Cunningham or his organization, the Watchman was able to obtain permission from 10 members of West Point Alumni for Trump to publish their names as signatories to the letter. Those names are posted at the bottom of the letter (see below).
The Watchman spoke with two of organization’s leaders, who agreed to provide screenshots of their Facebook page showing membership numbers and past documents the group has published in support of a variety of conservative causes.
Cunningham said he helped to individually verify each member of West Point Alumni for Trump by cross referencing their names with an online register of all West Point alumni.
In 2020 the organization launched a petition in support of former President Trump when a letter writing campaign by a similar left-leaning group of West Point graduates attempted to undermine the president and those who served in his administration.
LETTER IN SUPPORT OF EASTMAN
The Time to Stand is Now: West Point Alumni for Trump, an Online Community of 756 West Point Graduates, Encourages Rep. Eastman to Hold the Line
As graduates of West Point, we want to encourage Representative David Eastman (R-Wasilla) to continue to hold the line in the Alaska Legislature. Some argue that the way to bring America together is to silence any who stand against the woke mob. The unspoken promise is that by silencing those who do not cower to the mob, the mob will quiet down and finally be at peace. If only that were true. Those who work overtime to shout down and silence the voices of their political opponents only grow emboldened when the rest of us politely take a step back. The time to stand is now!
We stand against the silencing of dissent, against the politics of personal destruction, against guilt by accusation, guilt by association, and every effort to curtail the right of Americans to speak freely concerning the political issues of our day. We believe the solution for bad political speech isn’t less speech, but more speech. In the rush to silence their political opponents, woke activists now openly attack not only those who question woke orthodoxy, but also those who have the courage to stand and support the right of others to question it. This is a national phenomenon, and those who cherish this country must stand against it, from Alaska to Florida, and every community in between.
We have watched as the woke mob, supported by members of the media, turned its ire on individuals like Nick Sandmann, Kyle Rittenhouse, Donald Trump and our fellow graduates engaged in active public service or political competition. To stand against these attacks, even anonymously, was to be guilty by association. Following media publication of hacked donor data from Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense fund, police lieutenant William Kelly was publicly attacked and fired. He had made an anonymous $25 donation. Paramedic Craig Shepherd was publicly attacked and lost his job as well. He had made a $10 anonymous donation to permit Kyle Rittenhouse to defend himself in court. Danielle Reiss is one of countless Americans who lost their jobs for the crime of attending a speech given by President Trump.
More recently, woke activists are now attacking Republican legislators, including fellow West Point graduate David Eastman in Alaska. Following media publication of hacked donor and membership data from the Oathkeepers website, public servants who joined Oathkeepers are now being publicly attacked. We are now told that the 38,000 veterans, service members, first responders, and other public servants who pledged to honor their oaths to the United States Constitution as Oathkeepers should be cancelled and resign from public service for doing so. Some graduates of our alma mater have even added their names to a letter written by a former Democrat staffer who now demands that elected Representative David Eastman (R-Wasilla) forfeit the right to represent his Republican district and be expelled from the Legislature for becoming a member of Oathkeepers 12 years ago.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
It is truly terrifying to think of inviting those in government to override the will of the people in an election in order to cancel their political opponents and exclude them from public life.
President Truman warned that “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”
Neither Representative Eastman nor any other public servant should be removed from office, or forced to lose their job, for joining an organization whose only requirement for membership is a commitment to honor one’s oath to the United States Constitution. Unlike many other nations, new American citizens service members and public servants are required to take an oath, not to the government or a political leader or group, but to the Constitution of the United States. The oath of allegiance for American Citizenship ends “so help me God.”
This oath, supported by individual conscience, is a reminder to every American citizen that the Constitution is a higher standard than what is politically expedient. Yes, it is an even higher standard than the moral dictates of a woke mob, and when those dictates come against an individual’s constitutional rights, it is the responsibility of each of us who have taken that oath to stand up.
Whether or not they choose to join organizations for that purpose, we call on all public servants to honor the oath they have taken to the one document which brings all Americans together, no matter how disparate their political views: the Constitution of the United States.
The views expressed here are those of West Point Alumni for Trump. Among the group’s members, the following signatories have agreed to have their names published: John Farris (class of ’73), Melvin L. De Vilbiss (class of ’75), Ken Westlund (class of ’81), Bill Fletcher (class of ’74), Dave Drotar (class of ’88), Chuck Faris (class of ’84), Allen Saum (class of ’74), Michelle Hannon (class of ’88), Ruben A. Nogueira (class of ’83).
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Feb. 4 and 5 to include more background information about the private Facebook group West Point Alumni for Trump.
52 Comments
I support Representative Eastman! This is an outstandingly well written letter in support of Representative Eastman. Representative Eastman should not be removed because the woke culture thinks he should. He did nothing wrong. He supports his oath of office and has demistrated his worth to the people he represents very well. He is one of tge only Representative that actually listens to his constituents. To bad the rest of the Representatives in Juneau don’t take a look at how they should be operating. Representative Eastman is an outstanding man and does and outstanding job. Don’t end his career because he ruffles some feathers in Juneau.
Agree
Free speech whatever happened to agree to disagree
Juneau is a cesspool.
you are very, very sick.
How is that? Please elaborate.
Someone should forward this article to Louise Stutes and all the other politicians who are trying to buy votes by cancelling their opposition.
I did and called on all Republicans in the House, save Rasumessen, Merrick and Stutes since they aren’t Republicans, to each read a portion of the letter in Special Orders. Lot’s of good feedback by each staff person I talked to.
So a neo nazi gets the support of a few hundred west pointers for trump? As if. Show the signatures. And BTW how many times can you use the word ‘woke’ in one article?
Bonnie, did your law and logic courses at West Point teach you to use “argument ad hominem” as a counterargument in a legitimate debate? By calling people you don’t like “neo nazis” or assailing the credentials of an author or authors, you’re merely pretending to have a predilection for emotional outbursts, and lack of cogent thought. Perhaps you are really trying to detract from the credibility of the Hodes group by pretending to be an outraged patriotic American citizen with your name calling… but it’s not working. We know you are a die hard Eastman supporter and Trump loving republican. You cant fool us! Take your fake anger elsewhere.
j.campbell, Bonnie is no Republican or Trump lover, I can assure you.
J.campbell, the proper Latin term is “argumentum ad hominem.” You accuse her of “pretending to be an outraged patriotic American citizen… but ….. We know you are a die hard Eastman supporter and Trump loving republican. (s9c)” A fallacious accusation since the the two descriptions are one and the same.
Yes because swearing an oath to defend the constitution is neo nazi behavior. Don’t all elected officials swear the same oath? If only half of them even took that oath seriously then we wouldn’t even have to argue about this. Folks like you are destroying the ideas and foundation this great country was built on. If this country is full of racists and nazis then may I suggest moving to China or North Korea where you’ll be welcomed with open arms?
When everyone is a neo Nazi, no one is. How many times can you leftists call conservatives neo Nazis?
Ruben A. Nogueira
USMA Class 1983
Proud member of West Point Alumni for Trump
In 2020 a group of Oath Keepers stood watch over a business in Dallas targeted for destruction because the owner refused to bend her knee to the mnadate mandarins. The antifa terrorist who showed up decided to burn something else. #AgainstAllEnemies
Bob Dobson, 1984
As many times as WOKE is WOKE. Bonnie, I could easily say, based on your comment that you are a Socialist supporter which includes supporting the deaths of 10’s of millions world wide from socialism/communism, So are you a supporter of Hitler and his death camps, Remember Nazi party is Socialist. Lenin, Stalin with their purges of millions? How about North Korea, Pol Pot in Cambodia the fields of death?
No, in fact, looking again at you comments, I will make the natural assumption that you are a Socialist and do support Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, NK. How you like them apples?
Exaggeration makes your accusation meaningless
Wow! I hope he gets to keep his job! Such sad times we live in!
It is a sad time we live in when people like you support white supremacists and neo nazis.
Great reply Bonnie. You must be the Captain of your high school debate team.
Who is a white suprematism and neo-nazi? Do you even know what Nazi’s where? Have you even ever read a history book? Good grief. Typical mindless left, zero thinking, just name calling.
Figures – fabricated snowflake toadies for Trump unwilling to publish their names with their letter… come out, come out wherever you are! No names = no validity. Is Eastman a member of an extremist, anti government organization or not?
I know the answer
Jerry Heneghen, You have painted yourself into a corner. Being “anti-government, anti-crony-capitalism, anti-corporatist, etc” are good things. All decent and proper patriots should be “pro-constitution. pro-liberty, pro-integrity, pro-free-market, etc….”
Yes let’s see the names of these so-called West Pointers who support a white supremacist! If they are too cowardly to make their names public then they do not count. He is a disgrace to everything WPStands for.
Exactly.
As a WP grad myself , I agree. Duty, Honor, Country support of the insurrection and those who support it are not patriots
What insurrection? Oh, you mean the 2020 riots, killing citizens, injuring hundreds of cops, killing retired police, millions if not into Billions of burned down and looted business? That insurrection?
Lisa – I am a West Point graduate (Class of ’85). I didn’t sign the document merely because I’m not from Alaska, but I fully support REP Eastman. Unlike Bonnie Schweppe – also a USMA graduate, but one who has decided to go the route of slander – Mr. Eastman is an honorable man.
You have asserted that Mr. Eastman is a “white supremacist”. What is your evidence?
There is no honor supporting domestic terrorism and the attempt to overturn the lawful election of President Biden.
Perhaps you can provide evidence in support of your claims.. Preferably not from “The Midnight Sun”, or ADN.
https://ctc.usma.edu/the-oath-keepers-and-their-role-in-the-january-6-insurrection/
Your name is Ivan Hodes, so why are you pretending to be D. Eastman? No honor in the “Restoring Honor” cabal.
The fundamental tyrannical nature of the Left – is plain to in this comment section.
Their desire to censor and cancel any and all dissent is chilling – and Stutes is the personification of a tyrant.
Ak Pure Blood
The tyrants are getting worked up.. They see defeat in the mid-terms.
Banning certain books is cancel culture.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/01/who_are_the_oath_keepers.html
Great article.
The Oath Keeper leader is an Airborne School drop out. Sorry to hear he got hurt on his night drop, but most of us did not. He is not a hero simply because he got hurt in Airborne School. He is not a patriot simply by proclaiming he went to Airborne School
Thar has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand.
MW, Elizabeth Henry is right; your comment is nothing more than a diversion.
I have seen the list of WP grads the author references. I recognize many of them but that does not mean they signed off on this letter just because they were a member of another Trump supporting group. Publish the names who signed (as did signers of Declaration of Independence, so us other honorable grads know who supports this drivel
Stutes is a lazy faux conservative not doing her job. Email her directly and tell her to get back to the important work at hand and put senseless immature bullying aside. She needs to be voted out but until then she is where she is. Email her at
Representative.Louise.Stutes@akleg.gov
Oathbreakers hate Oathkeepers…
REMOVE THE TYRANT STUTES…. KODIAKS SHAME….
USMA Class of ’85 here. I didn’t originally sign the letter, but I have now. Thanks to Alaska Watchman for publicizing it, and thanks to the dishonest scum like Bonnie Brouse Schweppe for committing the unfounded and unwarranted attacks on Mr. Eastman. I wasn’t going to get involved, but trash like Schweppe spur one to action.
it is certainly no surprise that many of those currently in charge of the activities in the Alaska House are acting as they are again demonstrating their distain for things lawful and right…I did not have to take mush of a look at any of them to decide I would never buys a used car from any of them..!!
Clearly, Rep. Eastman’s fellow reps have 0 arguments to put forward against any of his actions or words, so they’re trying to cancel him through his association with Oath Keepers.
I’d much rather see some intellectual honesty and transparency from any of them than a simple stroke of the “neo-Nazi/racist” card that’s supposed to cancel any conservative but does not apply to liberals and their “allies,” such as Whoopi Goldberg and Don Lemon…
For the record, I’m the person quoted in the basic article above. I’m a USMA grad, class of 1974. I’ve been privileged to serve as one of the moderators of the West Point Alumni for Trump (WPAFT) forum since the forum was created. The statements attributed to me in the article above are accurate in all particulars.
As I’ve watched this comment thread evolve, there have been no surprises among the critical posters & their comments. I’m familiar with many of those posters from other online interactions in which their contributions have been entirely consistent with those above. I note that the thrust of their comments seems to be to effect cancelation of the article rather than making any effort to respond relevantly to its content. Again, there is no surprise in that in context of their historical behavior. I’d very much encourage those folks to continue their participation by responding to the actual content of the article.
For what it may be worth, I do find an amusing irony in those comments criticizing our team approach to the subject, that were left by folks who chose to do so under their own pseudonyms. I’d encourage those folks to continue more relevant participation in their own names.
At West Point Alumni for Trump, we continue to stand against the silencing of dissent, against the politics of personal destruction, against guilt by accusation, guilt by association, and every effort to curtail the right of Americans to speak freely concerning the political issues of our day. We believe the solution for bad political speech isn’t less speech, but more speech! I again invite those who disagree with us to join us in responsible debate on real issues rather than trying to avoid them by attacking the folks with whom they disagree.
Hear! Hear!
Why support Trump? He’s a crook.
I am for Eastman and his “protected’ freedom of speech. The four that want his committee assignments are greedy and engaged in themselves. Stutes is always a loudmouth and obnoxious person to have to listen too on Gavel to Gavel. She needs to go. Merrick is from Eagle River and the the most populated veteran group of retired and active duty men and women. They need to get rid of Merrick and her greedy, childish attitude of “more committee” for a record in the legislature. The other two go along to get along. But, Eastman? Well, the FBI has vetted him and he did nothing wrong. He is an honorably discharged veteran of foreign wars and a graduate of Westpoint. I am proud to have retired vets serve in the legislature, because its better to look them in the eye and know they will actually do what they promise when they take an oath. If we ever have a war again and reserves are called Eastman will be there again. The four who tried to take his committee assignments away from him will be like so much “hot air blowing in the wind’ and no one will ever have the respect that Eastman has at this moment in time.
Why would you waste your time standing up for Eastman after he sold out to the fake pandemic. I don’t remember him fighting for us. I remember him sitting there with a mask on like a wimp. He pretty much even hid the fact that he was in The Oath Keepers. Yes he has good votes but that’s not enough when you have communist perverts completely destroying your country. David Eastman obeyed Louise Stoops like she was his mama
Who is Joel Davidson? I’ve been in and around Alaska journalism for almost 50 years and I’ve never heard of him. What awards has he won? Being the “editor in chief” of a one-man blog seems a little overblown, don’t you think?