Leaked Oath Keepers Data Shows At Least 28 Elected Officials Have Ties To The Group

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/oath-keepers-data-elected-officials

Over the past dozen years, at least 28 people who currently hold elected office joined or financially supported the Oath Keepers, the extremist group that figured prominently in the violent Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol, a BuzzFeed News analysis of data from the organization shows.

In the months since the Capitol insurrection, as two dozen people linked to the Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes, including conspiracy, for their roles, several of those elected officials have continued to voice support for the organization. And at least two officials — David Eastman and Mark Finchem of the Alaska and Arizona Houses of Representatives, respectively — were in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6 to protest the certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory. Neither of the men has been charged.

Other current elected officials with ties to the Oath Keepers who were identified by BuzzFeed News said they dropped out of the group long before that day, although some speculated it might just have been the work of a few bad actors.

At a time when the Oath Keepers and other extreme right-wing groups appear more focused on moving into local politics, the accounting gives insight into how much support the group may already have in state and local government around the country. The officials who appear in the group's records range from state senators and representatives to road superintendents, city council members, and sheriffs. Some paid for lifetime memberships, others joined for only a year, and still others donated money to the group but did not become members.

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[Thomas Hurt]

1. time to stop dancing around it and call them the terrorist organization they are.