MILWAUKEE — Three Milwaukee-area police officers were linked to the Oath Keepers group after the Badger Project, a Madison-based journalism group, obtained a list of members. Two officers from Bayside and one serving in the Milwaukee Police Department were members or had some interaction with the group.
The Oath Keepers are considered to be a far-right, anti-government group. It had a significant presence during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Several members of the Oath Keepers have been prosecuted and imprisoned because of their involvement in the attack.
Andrew Wagner is the President of the Milwaukee Police Association, the union representing MPD officers. He says the officer’s involvement took place over 10 years ago.
“He was on Facebook and [the Oath Keepers] was posted as a police and military organization,” Wagner said. “He said he liked the stickers they were offering. He sent a donation of $25 and had no involvement with the group since then.”
Wagner went on to say there is a process and standard in the event an officer is involved with groups outside of work.
“The police are held to standard operating procedure, they cannot join racist or extremist groups,” Wagner said. “If they were, that would warrant some type of investigation.”
Although there is no definitive list of racist and extremist groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League both consider the Oath Keepers to be an extremist group.
One police officer from Bayside resigned from his post shortly after the list was released.
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