Hundreds of law officers, military and elected officials on leaked membership rolls of extremist Oath Keepers group

"The names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members appear on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group that’s accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to a report released Wednesday," Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman report for The Associated Press. "The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism pored over more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists and identified more than 370 people it believes currently work in law enforcement agencies — including as police chiefs and sheriffs — and more than 100 people who are currently members of the military."

The organization "also identified more than 80 people who were running for or served in public office as of early August. The membership information was compiled into a database published by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets," Richer and Kunzelman report. "The data raises fresh concerns about the presence of extremists in law enforcement and the military who are tasked with enforcing laws and protecting the U.S. It’s especially problematic for public servants to be associated with extremists at a time when lies about the 2020 election are fueling threats of violence against lawmakers and institutions."

Though more than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the inclusion of a name on the list doesn't prove that person was ever actively involved with the group or approves of its ideology. "Some people on the list contacted by The Associated Press said they were briefly members years ago and are no longer affiliated with the group. Some said they were never dues-paying members," Richer and Kunzelman report. One Colorado sheriff said he distanced himself from the Oath Keepers years ago because of its increasingly extreme views.

"The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, is a loosely organized conspiracy theory-fueled group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders," Richer and Kunzelman report. It asks its members to vow to defend the Constitution 'against all enemies, foreign and domestic,' promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny."

Republican county supervisor recalled over pandemic mandates warns, 'Don't think this can't happen to you'

Official election results have confirmed that a far-right militia successfully ousted a Republican county supervisor this month in Shasta County, California. "It was a ballot-box success for ultra-conservatives, one that could be repeated in local elections this year as well as primaries and the midterms as Republicans decide whether to skew right with former President Donald Trump or hew to a more traditional course," CNN reports.

Leonard Moty, who lost the recall vote, is a former law-enforcement officer, and fiscal conservative who supports the Second Amendment, but the militia went against him and two other supervisors after they wouldn't defy mandatory shut-down restrictions imposed by the governor for the pandemic.

Moty "says his loss is a win for extremists and warns other Republicans that the rage of the far right is driving them to take on local governments," CNN reports. "I think it's the Republican Party falling apart," Moty said. "Don't think it's just going to go away. Don't think this can't happen to you."

Shasta County in pink,
Nevada County in red
on adapted Wikipedia map

The militia that led the recall effort has a podcast with a nationwide audience (which in one episode compared journalists to Nazi war criminals, using misinformation to make its point), and has said they want other counties to follow their example in recalling local leaders.

A group in rural Nevada County, in the Sierra Nevada southeast of Shasta County, appears to be doing just that. It "is seeking to recall five county supervisors, saying that contact tracing efforts and the promotion of lockdowns and vaccines violate 'religious freedoms and individual liberty'," Dani Anguiano reports for The Guardian. The campaign has also "accused supervisors of 'promoting corruption' and enabling 'crimes against humanity'."

"I did not enable 'crimes against humanity', I sought to protect citizens’ health in the face of a deadly virus," Nevada County Supervisor Dan Miller said in response to the recall effort. Anguiano reports, "Experts say extreme language is becoming increasingly common in local politics and public meetings, even those that have historically been staid and orderly affairs."

Militia appears to have won Northern California county in recall vote; one leader threatened journalists on podcast

Screenshot from Shasta Scout story about militia podcast

A far-right militia in Shasta County, California, appears to have won its bid to oust a Republican county supervisor in a recall election, but the vote tally is close enough that final, certified results could be weeks away, David Benda and Damon Arthur report for the Redding Record Searchlight.

Militia members recently collected enough signatures to force a recall vote Tuesday for three supervisors, and apparently enough votes to out Supervisor Leonard Moty, a lifelong Republican and former Redding police chief. "With all 23 precincts reporting Tuesday night, recall supporters had 52.78% of the 'Yes' vote, while 47.22% of voters cast ballots against the effort to remove Moty from office. The tally remained unchanged on Wednesday," Benda and Arthur report.

As of Thursday evening, nearly 2,000 votes remained uncounted, and the elections office said it will continue receiving ballots from the post office through next Tuesday. "Moty is expected to continue serving as chair of the Board of Supervisors at next Tuesday's meeting, as elections workers continue to count mail-in ballots," Benda and Arthur report. Moty said in a statement that the recall was funded by "an out-of-state millionaire who is seeking revenge against the county" and that it had "done nothing more than sow hate and division in our community."

Shasta County (Wikipedia map)

Militia types have become increasingly bold since the beginning of the pandemic, threatening local news media and announcing the home address of the county health officer. They have a podcast with a nationwide audience and have said they want their actions to be a template for other counties. In a Jan. 13 episode, the host compared journalists to Nazi war criminals and showed a photo purporting to show journalists being hung after the Nuremburg trials, Annelise Pierce reports for the Shasta Scout. Militia leader Woody Clendenin said on the podcast, "What a lot of folks don’t know is some of the folks hung that day were the media because they had helped cover up the crimes and the lie. And I think in our own country there’s a day coming that the media will have to pay, in one way or another."

The photo, which Facebook labeled false, actually shows Nazi war criminals being hung in Ukraine, Reuters reports. The Holocaust Encyclopedia reports that the Nuremberg defendants included the head of the radio division of the German propaganda ministry and the editor of a racist, anti-Semitic newspaper, who was the only "media" member executed, Agence France-Presse reports.

Extremist positions enter political mainstream; Calif. official in recall vote today says he barely recognizes his town

"Candidates for political office and sitting politicians across the country are increasingly embracing extremist talking points, endorsing hateful campaigns and promoting conspiracy theories, according to two recent studies and experts who research extremist movements," USA Today reports.

The first report, last week from the Anti-Defamation League, "showed that candidates for local, state and federal offices have parroted white-supremacist propaganda, expressed support for conspiracy theories including QAnon, and spread lies about election fraud," Will Carless reports. Another study from the voting rights advocacy organization Public Wise identified more than 220 officials or candidates who participated in or "directly supported: the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, "either by spreading disinformation about the election before the riot or by expressing support for the rioters." Some politicians take extremist viewpoints because they hope to attract supporters of former president Donald Trump, Oren Segal, vice-president of the ADL's Center on Extremism, told Carless.

Or, politicians may simply hope to appease such voters. A recall election in a rural California county shows how far to the right some conservatives have moved, and what can happen when politicians don't cater to extremist beliefs, Scott Shafer reports for KQED in Northern California.

Militia members, led by former Marine Carlos Zapata, have packed Shasta County supervisor meetings since 2020, warning supervisors not to enforce pandemic health rules. Recently, they collected enough signatures to force a recall election for Supervisor Leonard Moty today. Moty, a lifelong Republican and former police chief, told Shafer that he barely recognizes the town he's lived in his whole life: "It's very alarming and shocking to me. They try to shout you down and beat you up with their lies and information until subsequently you just give up."

Zapata said at a 2020 meeting that, though he wasn't threatening violence, Shasta County was "not going to be peaceful much longer . . . I'm not a criminal. I've never been a criminal. But I'm telling you that good citizens are going to turn into real concerned and revolutionary citizens real soon." It may not be empty words: A recent survey from The Covid States Project found that independent and Republican men were the most likely of any party or gender to say that violent protest against the government is justifiable right now.

GOP consultant Mike Madrid told Shafer the recall shows how extreme the Republican Party has become in the state: "We're witnessing really what is probably the first attempt in the nation for a militia-backed organization to unseat Trump-supporting Republicans simply because they're trying to make government work and government function." The militia has a podcast for like-minded listeners across the country, and says the recall is a blueprint for conservatives in other states, Shafer reports.

Emboldened right-wing militias, with many rural adherents, are an increasing threat, Dept. of Homeland Security says

Emboldened far-right militias, many dominated by rural residents and some affiliated with white supremacy groups, are increasingly threatening racial-justice protests, intimidating voters and more.

"Throughout the West and beyond, in a summer marked by protests seeking racial justice, armed vigilantes also have shown up at Black Lives Matter events in small towns and big cities alike. Their presence in some places has the tacit support of law enforcement or even local elected officials," Erika Bolstad reports for Stateline. "Now, experts who monitor right-wing vigilantes and white nationalist organizations are on even higher alert for the possibility of violence at political rallies. They also fear vigilantes or armed groups might show up at ballot drop-off locations and outside of Nov. 3 polling places to intimidate voters and increase paramilitary activity afterward if election results are disputed or seen as illegitimate."

During a presidential debate, President Trump urged supporters to "go into the polls and watch very carefully" and told white nationalist group the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by," which their leader interpreted as a call to intimidate voters, according to his social media posts, Stateline reports.

Election officials across the nation have stepped up training and strengthened ties with local law enforcement to prepare for possible violence or intimidation. Still, threats have persisted. Voter intimidation has been reported in several rural areas in Oregon, from individuals who were armed or blocking ballot dropboxes with vehicles, Lizzy Acker reports for The Oregonian. And in Georgia, a rally was canceled after threats of a large militia presence.

However, sometimes militias have tacit or explicit support from local officials. In Virginia, a few rural counties have officially recognized local militias as organizations that enhance public safety and security, Gregory Schneider reports for The Washington Post.

Federal authorities are paying attention, especially to militias affiliated with white supremacist ideology. "White supremacists represent the top and most lethal domestic terror threat to Americans, the Department of Homeland Security said Oct. 6, when it released its first-ever Homeland Threat Assessment," Bolstad reports.

It is easier for paramilitary groups to form and act in the U.S. than in other countries because of easier access to firearms, writes Vasabjit Banerjee for policy magazine Just Security. Banerjee, a political science professor at Mississippi State University, studies insurgencies in developing nations. The increase in militias and other paramilitary groups in the U.S. is cause for concern, he writes.