A massive leak has potentially exposed 38,000 people associated with the far-right group the Oath Keepers. Hundreds of names on the list are affiliated with political figures, law enforcement and members of the military.
Membership roll sheets were leaked Wednesday, published by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets. However, some people on the list have already denied involvement with the group. Appearing in the Oath Keepers’ database doesn’t prove that a person was ever an active member of the group or shares its ideology.
Oath Keepers by their own definition are people who defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. The group’s Code of Ethics describes members as patriots whose “fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality, and justice.”
However, the Anti-Defamation League has deemed Oath Keepers as an extremist group fueled by conspiracy theories. The FBI has labeled them as an antigovernment militia. Two dozen members have been arrested for involvement at the Capitol during the Jan, 6 riot, including the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes. Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers say that they are innocent and that there was no plan to attack the Capitol.
Oath Keepers has grown to become one of the largest organizations of the so-called patriot movement. Their members are largely made up of military and law enforcement as they require certain occupations for full memberships.
