A leaked membership role of the Oath Keepers revealed the names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members.
The Oath Keepers have been accused of playing a key role in the Jan 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism poured over more than 38,000 names on the membership lists and identified more than 370 people it believes currently work in law enforcement agencies and more than 100 who are in the military.
It also identified more than 80 people who were running for or served in public office as of early August.
The data raises fresh concerns about the presence of extremists in law enforcement and the military who are tasked with enforcing laws and protecting the U.S. It’s especially problematic for public servants to be associated with extremists at a time when lies about the 2020 election are fueling threats of violence against lawmakers and institutions.
The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, is a loosely organized group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders. It asks its members to vow to defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny.
More than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Five Oath Keeper members or associates are heading to trial this month on seditious conspiracy charges.
ADL said it found the names of at least 10 people who now work as police chiefs and 11 sheriffs. All of the police chiefs and sheriffs who responded saying they no longer have any ties to the group.