Hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials, and military personnel are listed on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group accused of playing a crucial part in the disturbance at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism combed through more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists and identified more than 370 individuals who it believes are currently employed by law enforcement agencies, including as police chiefs and sheriffs, and more than 100 individuals who are currently serving in the military.
In addition, it identified more than 80 candidates and incumbents for public office as of early August. The membership information was put into a database by the transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, which was then made public.
The data raises new concerns about the presence of extremists in law enforcement and the military, which are responsible for enforcing the law and defending the United States. During a time when lies about the 2020 election are fuelling threats of violence against lawmakers and institutions, it is extremely difficult for public officials to be identified with radicals.
“Even for those who claimed to have left the organization when it began employing more violent tactics in 2014, it is crucial to recall that the Oath Keepers have advocated extremism since their inception, and this fact did not stop these individuals from joining,” the report states.
A person’s presence in the Oath Keepers’ database does not show that he or she was ever an active member of the organization or that they adhere to its ideology. Some individuals on the list who were reached by The Associated Press indicated they were once members but are no longer involved with the organization. Some claimed to have never paid membership dues.
Shawn Mobley, the sheriff of Colorado’s Otero County, stated, “Their opinions are way too radical for me.” Mobley told the AP in an email that he severed ties with the Oath Keepers years ago, citing, among other things, the group’s role in the federal government standoff at the Bundy Ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada.
The Oath Keepers, created by Stewart Rhodes in 2009, is a loosely organized group that recruits current and former members of the military, police, and first responders. It encourages its members to pledge to protect the Constitution “against all foes, foreign and domestic,” promotes the notion that the federal government is attempting to rob Americans of their civil liberties, and portrays its adherents as defenders against tyranny.
More than two dozen Oath Keepers members, including Rhodes, have been charged in connection with the incident on January 6. This month, Rhodes and four other Oath Keeper members or affiliates will stand trial on seditious conspiracy charges related to an alleged weeklong plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in office. Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers claim that there was no plan to attack the Capitol and that they are innocent.
During Barack Obama’s presidency, the Oath Keepers utilized the internet to propagate their message, according to Rachel Carroll Rivas, temporary deputy director of research for the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. She stated that after Rhodes’ arrest on January 6 the group has struggled to retain members.
She explained that the association between Oath Keepers and Rhodes was so strong that the removal of the key character had a disproportionate effect, and that many of the group’s members aspired to be regarded as respectable in their communities.
“The association with January 6 was too much for many of these individuals,” she added.
Among the elected figures whose names appear on the membership lists is South Dakota state Representative Phil Jensen, who won the Republican primary for reelection in June. Jensen told the AP that he paid for a one-year membership in 2014, but never got any literature, attended any meetings, or renewed his membership.
Jensen stated that he felt obliged to join because he “believed in the pledge we swore to protect and preserve the U.S. Constitution against foreign and internal foes.” He refused to say whether he now disavows the Oath Keepers, citing a lack of current knowledge regarding the organization.
“In 2014, they appeared to be a solidly conservative organization; I cannot comment on them now,” he remarked.
The ADL reported discovering the identities of at least 10 current police chiefs and 11 sheriffs. All police chiefs and sheriffs who replied to the AP indicated they have severed relations with the organization.
“I have no idea what they are posting. I never get any updates, “Sheriff Mike Hollinshead of Elmore County, Idaho, stated. I do not pay dues, membership fees, or anything else.
Several years ago, Republican Hollinshead was campaigning for sheriff when voters asked him if he was familiar with the Oath Keepers. Hollinshead stated that he wanted to learn more about the organization and recalled paying for access to content on the Oath Keepers’ website, but that was the end of his participation.
Benjamin Boeke, the chief of police in Oskaloosa, Iowa, recalls receiving emails from the group many years ago and speculated that a buddy may have signed him up. But he claimed he never paid to join and has no knowledge of the organization.
Idalou, Texas, police chief Eric Williams stated in an email that he has not been a member or had any contact with the Oath Keepers in over a decade. He described the Capitol assault as “awful in every aspect.”
“I wish that this country will return to civility and harmony in its conversation,” he stated.