A Collin County Constable who was identified by the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism as a one-time member of the Oath Keepers says he did not engage with the group and does not support extremist groups.
After combing through a list of roughly 38,000 names believed to have come from a leaked Oath Keepers member list, the ADL on Wednesday said they identified nearly 400 people who are also current members of law enforcement, elected officials or military members.
The ADL said Constable Joe Wright was identified on the list and that he signed up for the organization before taking office, writing in his membership, “Constable elect for Collin County Pct. 4 Constable’s office. Currently a Collin County deputy sheriff [sic].”
It's not clear when the list was last updated and it's also not known how active members were within the organization. The ADL included the following disclaimer with their release of the member list.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
"An individual’s inclusion in the Oath Keeper database is not proof that they were or are still an Oath Keeper, that they hold or held all or some of Oath Keeper ideology or viewpoints, or that they ever actively participated in Oath Keeper activities. When reviewing this information, you should bear in mind the possibility that the individual misunderstood the nature of the Oath Keepers. Before taking any action based on this information, an individualized assessment of the individual must take place."
In a prepared statement Wednesday, Wright said he does not agree with or support any extremist group and that he thought at the time that the Oath Keepers existed to encourage elected officials to honor their oath of office.
He said he never went to any meetings and did not renew his membership while adding that he took an oath to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and that he plans to continue to do so.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Wright's entire statement can be read below:
"I do not agree with or support any extremist groups or individuals who take subversive actions against our government. In 2011, as a new candidate, I was invited to reaffirm my commitment to uphold my oath of office should I be elected. At the time, I believed the Oath Keepers existed only to encourage elected officials to honor their oath of office, follow the law and to uphold the Texas and U.S. Constitution. I never directly engaged with, communicated with, nor attended any of their meetings during that time, or any other time, nor did I ever renew my membership. I swore an official oath to protect and defend the Constitution and laws of this state, and the United States, and I shall continue to do so. I will not be answering any more questions on this issue as I have no involvement with this association, or anyone connected to this association, whatsoever."
The Oath Keepers are accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and more than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers — including founder Stewart Rhodes — have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers say that they are innocent and that there was no plan to attack the Capitol.
According to information released by the ADL, there were 3,301 Oath Keepers signed up in Texas including eight elected officials, 33 members of law enforcement, 10 military members and seven first responders.
LEOs DISAVOW TIES TO OATH KEEPERS, AP REPORTS
The ADL said it found the names of at least 10 people who now work as police chiefs and 11 sheriffs on the Oath Keepers member rolls. All of the police chiefs and sheriffs who responded to the AP said they no longer have any ties to the group.
“I don’t even know what they’re posting. I never get any updates,” said Mike Hollinshead, sheriff of Idaho’s Elmore County. “I'm not paying dues or membership fees or anything.”
Hollinshead, a Republican, said he was campaigning for sheriff several years ago when voters asked him if he was familiar with the Oath Keepers. Hollinshead said he wanted to learn about the group and recalls paying for access to content on the Oath Keepers’ website, but that was the extent of his involvement.
Benjamin Boeke, police chief in Oskaloosa, Iowa, recalled getting emails from the group years ago and said he believes a friend may have signed him up. But he said he never paid to become a member and doesn’t know anything about the group.
Eric Williams, police chief in Idalou, Texas, also said in an email that he hasn't been a member or had any interaction with the Oath Keepers in over 10 years. He called the storming of the Capitol “terrible in every way.”
After reviewing details of the release, Associate Dean of Tarleton State's School of Criminology Dr. Alex del Carmen called the presence of law enforcement on a membership list for an extremist group concerning.
“Our concern is that when people administer the law, and they enforce the law, that they are impartial to it. And by showing a particular affiliation, or by showing a particular component may supersede the constitutional requirements that that officer may have. That is what concerns us," said del Carmen.
He went on to say that he's even more concerned with those who've actually contributed to the actions of the Oath Keepers, which the ADL made sure to note doesn't necessarily include all of those on the list.
"I think when you actually sit back and look at what this database shows, it's the fact that most people in the United States that work for law enforcement are not on that list. I'm still convinced that the majority of police officers are honest, decent, hardworking people, and that they are not going to take an oath to something other than what they promised one day to defend, which is the Constitution of the United States," said del Carmen.
Still, del Carmen said the presence of law enforcement officers on the list reinforces the need for departments to conduct social media sweeps when hiring.
NORTH TEXAS FOUNDER OF OATH KEEPERS FACES JAN. 6 CHARGES
The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, of Granbury, is a loosely organized conspiracy theory-fueled group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders. 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.
More than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers — including Rhodes — have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.
Rhodes and four other Oath Keepers members or associates are heading to trial this month on seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors have described as a weekslong plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in power.
Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers said that they are innocent and that there was no plan to attack the Capitol.
District Judge Amit Mehta on Wednesday afternoon denied a request by Rhodes to delay his trial after he filed a last-minute motion to replace his attorneys. Mehta said there is a "massive traffic jam of cases" related to Jan. 6 and that trying Rhodes alone will take a month and that there isn't room on his docket for a case of that length until next summer, were it to be delayed.
