Laramie Police Department Addresses Claim of Oathkeeper Ties
In February of 2022, the Laramie Police Department was notified by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that they had received a list of approximately 58,000 names of persons across the country that were members of The Oath Keepers. One of their police officers was on that list, as stated in their release.
The Oath Keepers are classified as an “extremist” militia group by ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center and some 25 members of the group, including its founder, have or are currently being tried by the U.S. Department of Justice with the most serious charges including seditious conspiracy to attack or overthrow the government.
Laramie Police Department General Order, ADM 14, states, “No personnel shall become a member of any organization, association, movement, or group, which has adopted a policy of advocating violence or acts of force to deny others their Constitutional rights, or who seek to alter the form of government by unconstitutional means, or who advocate racial or religious discrimination as a political philosophy or objective. “
This incident was investigated as a personnel matter according to our standard internal process. The officer’s membership occurred many years prior to the organization being classified as extremist and the officer was not active in the group. The officer directed the group to immediately cancel and revoke any membership attributed to him/her. All other actions/discipline are considered personnel matters and will not be released.
The Laramie Police Department continues to remain dedicated to the citizens of Laramie, upholding the Constitutional Rights of all.