Hundreds of law enforcement officers, elected officials, and military members appear on the membership lists of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, says a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Oath Keepers have risen to national prominence for their alleged role in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The leaked membership list was published last year by the journalism collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) The ADL's Center on Extremism went through the 38,000 names on the lists to identify those who held "sensitive positions." ADL identified 373 people on the Oath Keepers membership list who are currently serving in law enforcement agencies, including at least 10 chiefs of police and 11 sheriffs, Axios reports.
The group identified 117 people serving in the military, on top of 11 people serving in the reserves and another 31 who are military contractors or hold civilian positions. It said the list included "86 active firefighters (including several fire chiefs), 19 active paramedics, and 31 active emergency technicians appearing in the membership list." "An individual’s inclusion in the Oath Keeper database is not proof that they were or are still an Oath Keeper, that they hold or held all or some of Oath Keeper ideology or viewpoints, or that they ever actively participated in Oath Keeper activities," ADL said. Federal prosecutors have alleged that a group of Oath Keepers stockpiled an arsenal of rifles and ammunition just outside Washington, D.C., in an operation to stop the presidential transition of power on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors broadened a seditious conspiracy charge against the group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, and eight co-defendants, alleging they coordinated to use force to oppose the transfer of power.