Leaked Oath Keepers Membership List Reportedly Identifies 123 in RI, Including 1 in Law Enforcement
GoLocalProv News Team
Leaked Oath Keepers Membership List Reportedly Identifies 123 in RI, Including 1 in Law Enforcement
According to an analysis of the database, at least one of the 123 identified as a resident of Rhode Island is a member of law enforcement, and one is a member of the U.S. Military.
In contrast, Maine, a fellow New England state with only a slightly larger population, although more rural, has 215 who signed up for the Oath Keeper and, according to the analysis, has two elected officials tied to the group and one member of law enforcement and two first responders.
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The analysis of the data was released this week.
On September 27, 2021, DDoSecrets uploaded a cache of data allegedly linked to the Oath Keepers that included chat records from the group’s private chatroom hosted on Rocketchat from June 22 to June 26, 2020, and February 5 to September 19, 2021; emails from January 13 to September 19, 2021; and purported membership information for more than 38,000 individuals.
The database includes full names, addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, membership type, and a space for comments (frequently left empty). To identify those individuals in the Oath Keepers database who hold sensitive positions, Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism (COE) researchers compared the names found in the data with information found in public databases, media reports, and social media platforms
The ADL says it is important to know that, “Important: an individual’s inclusion in the Oath Keeper database is not proof that they were or are still an Oath Keeper.”
It is a database of those who signed up. “When reviewing this information, you should bear in mind the possibility that the individual misunderstood the nature of the Oath Keepers,” said the ADL.
As of August 8, the COE has identified 373 individuals we believe are currently serving in law enforcement agencies across the country. This number is far higher than any previously identified number of extremists within law enforcement; for comparison, an ADL report released in 2021 identified 76 cases – 73 of which were unique – in which extremists were found serving in law enforcement.
COE analysis identified 81 individuals across the country who, as of August 8, 2022, are currently holding or running for public office in 2022.
Oath Keepers
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, (SPLC), which tracks hate and anti-government groups and includes the Oath Keepers in their tracking, “The group also has a long history of engaging in and promoting their own form of vigilantism by providing voluntary armed security, not affiliated with any law enforcement entity, at various protests and venues. In 2014, members formed their own patrol in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of an unarmed Black man in 2014, and they provided security to an Infowars reporter during the anniversary protest a year later.”
“In 2015, Rhodes said they would protect notorious Kentucky clerk Kim Davis from arrest. Members patrolled the site of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and polling locations in 2016 and 2020, allegedly to discourage and report voter fraud. Members have provided security for events and individuals promoting 'Stop the Steal' after the 2020 election, including Roger Stone. They also offered security to business owners who defied COVID-19 public health safety measures,” adds SPLC.