Oath Keepers Members Include Hundreds Of Elected Officials, Police And Military Personnel, Leaked List Suggests

Topline

Hundreds of elected officials, military members and law enforcement officers feature on leaked membership lists of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government militia accused of playing a leading role in the Capitol assault, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League, a finding that adds to concerns over the prevalence of radical-right beliefs among U.S. forces and law enforcement.

An Oath Keeper, brought on to provide security, stands guard during a pro-Donald Trump rally.

Getty Images

Key Facts

The ADL’s Center on Extremism said it had identified more than 370 people named on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists it believes currently work in law enforcement agencies across the country, including at least 10 chiefs and 11 sheriffs.

ADL also identified 117 people on the organization’s rolls it believes currently serve in the U.S. military, as well as 11 serving in the reserves and 31 who are contractors or hold civilian positions.

It also found more than 80 individuals across the country who were, as of early August, holding or running for public office, with positions ranging from mayors, town council members and school board members to state representatives and senators.

Emergency responders also featured prominently on membership lists, ADL said, adding it had identified 86 people it believed to be active firefighters, including several chiefs, 19 active paramedics and 31 active emergency technicians.

Membership lists also included significant numbers of people ADL identified as holding other prominent positions within the community, including religious figures, teachers, civil engineers and government employees, some of whom reported holding top security clearances or had jobs giving access to critical infrastructure.

ADL notes that its figures may not give a complete picture of the Oath Keepers’ makeup—it does not include those only joining local chapters or who never officially signed up—or of the roles held by the 38,000 people named on the leaked membership lists, many of whom claimed to be affiliated with the military or work as emergency responders but could not be confidently assessed.

What We Don’t Know

Whether the people named in the membership lists are actually affiliated with the Oath Keepers or share the group’s views. ADL stresses that appearing in the Oath Keeper database of people who signed up and paid dues to the organization is not definitive proof an individual is or was affiliated with the group, shares all or part of its views, or engaged in its activities. It’s possible an individual “misunderstood the nature of the Oath Keepers,” ADL suggested, or that mistakes were made identifying people from the lists.

Key Background

The Oath Keepers are a far-right militia founded in 2009 by Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate Stewart Rhodes. It is among the largest groups of its kind in the country and it casts itself as the defenders of fundamental rights and the perceived violations of these by the American government. Oath Keepers actively seeks out active and former military, law enforcement and first responders as recruits who will possess the skills needed to advance their cause. In addition to those currently serving, ADL estimates that one in 10 of the individuals in the leaked membership database served in the military in some prior capacity. The group has been accused of playing a crucial role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and dozens with ties to the group have been charged for allegedly participating. Rhodes has been charged with seditious conspiracy and other offenses connected with the attack and a lawyer for the group was arrested in September and charged with conspiring to obstruct the joint session of Congress to certify the election results.

Big Number

910. At least that many people have been arrested and charged with crimes in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to a tracker updated by Insider on Tuesday.

Breaking