Oath Keepers In NJ Include 12 In Law Enforcement, 1 Politician: Report

NEW JERSEY — Twelve members of law enforcement and one elected officials are among hundreds of New Jerseyans on the membership list of the Oath Keepers — a far-right militia accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6 insurrection — according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Several organizations that monitor domestic terrorism and hate groups have labeled the Oath Keepers as extremists, including the ADL and Southern Poverty Law Center. Few specifics about the group's membership were publicly known until September 2021, when nonprofit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published more than 38,000 names on the Oath Keepers' membership rolls.

The Oath Keepers differentiate themselves from other anti-government extremist groups in their explicit recruiting of current and former military, law enforcement and emergency services personnel, according to the ADL. But their beliefs don't stray far from the norm in that sector of extremism.

"Much like the rest of the anti-government militia movement," the ADL's report says, "the group’s members believe that a shadowy conspiracy — often referred to as the New World Order — has co-opted the federal government to strip Americans of their rights and ultimately enslave them."

The ADL reviewed the more than 38,000 leaked names and created a database that shows how many people in each state are on the Oath Keepers' membership roll. The organization then sorted the data to show how many people in each state are on the list — including how many are elected officials, military, law enforcement and first responders.

Here are the ADL's findings on Oath Keepers signups in New Jersey:

• number of Oath Keepers signups: 588
• elected officials: one
• law enforcement: 12
• military: two
• first responders: four

The ADL only revealed a fraction of the names. But the organization worked to verify the names, states of residence and government links of members included in the 5-gigabyte leak of emails, chat logs, membership information and donor lists.

When DDoSecrets leaked the membership list, WNYC/Gothamist found dozens of current and former police, military personnel and government officials in New Jersey among members. At the time of last year's leak, the state had no law prohibiting law enforcement or public officials from joining the Oath Keepers or similar groups that have been labeled extremist.

But the state passed a law July 21 that addresses the matter. The new law establishes a uniform, statewide system for licensing officers, joining 46 states that have the same. The bipartisan measure will allow the state Police Training Commission to decertify officers for several reasons, including active membership "of a group or organization that advocates for, espouses, or promotes the overthrow of a local, state, or federal government or discrimination or violence against or hatred" against protected classes under New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws.

• Read more: New NJ Police Training Law Will Root Out 'Bad Actors,' Supporters Say

An active member of the Oath Keepers ran for State Assembly last year. Edward Durfee Jr. ran in District 37's uncontested Republican primary but lost in the general election.

Some people in the Oath Keepers database have disavowed the group since signing up, while others may have joined because they were sold a watered-down version of the group's agenda, according to the ADL.

"That said, the range of individuals represented in the Oath Keepers leak shows the extent to which this extremist ideology has gained acceptance," the ADL's report says. "Even for those who claimed to have left the organization when it began to employ more aggressive tactics in 2014, it is important to remember that the Oath Keepers have espoused extremism since their founding, and this fact was not enough to deter these individuals from signing up."

The Oath Keepers claim to defend the U.S. Constitution and fight tyranny, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group launched in April 2009 in the wake of Barack Obama becoming the nation's first Black president.

The group gained greater prominence after the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021 after multiple members participated in the insurrection. By September 2021, officials indicted 20 members on federal criminal offenses, with four pleading guilty. Eleven members, including founder Steward Rhodes, were indicted for seditious conspiracy in January. Three pleaded guilty to the charge, including one not named in the initial indictment.

View the ADL's full report.