Holmen village board member appears on list of elected officials with alleged ties to extremist group
HOLMEN, Wis. (WKBT) — A Holmen man is one of six elected officials in Wisconsin identified as having potential ties to an extremist organization.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Holmen Village Board member Rodney Stanek appears on a database of individuals believed to have signed up or paid membership dues for the Oath Keepers, an anti-government extremist group accused of playing a role in the January 6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
News 8 Now reached out to Stanek, who provided the following statement:
“I have in the past subscribed to them as a member, but doing so I have not attended any meetings or rallies or any communications, although I may agree with their ideology of defending our Constitution, in which I myself being an elected official have taken that oath, however, for a very long time now, I haven’t agreed with their methods. I do not condone violence of any kind and will not participate in that kind of activity.”
The list identified 38,000 names including 340 believed to be working in law enforcement, 100 members of the military and 80 people either currently holding or running for public office.
RELATED STORY: Elected officials, police chiefs on leaked Oath Keepers list
News 8 Now obtained a list of elected officials in the state that appear on this database:
- Gary Halverson: Alderman – Madison, WI
- Stan Wekkin: Village President – Village of North Hudson, WI
- Randy McHugh: Village Trustee – Village of Sullivan, WI
- Darla LeClair: Vice President – City Council of Two Rivers, WI
- Rodney Stanek: Village Board Trustee – Village of Holmen, WI
- Rick Richard: District 8 County Supervisor – Rock County Board
The list also shows one military member, four law enforcement members and three first responders in the state of Wisconsin. A total of 609 alleged members of the Oath Keepers were identified in the state. A spokesperson for ADL said they would not identify names of certain individuals, only publicly elected officials or law enforcement leaders such as police chiefs or sheriffs.
“We cannot provide the names of individual law enforcement officers or military personnel as this report is not meant to dox rank-and-file personnel,” ADL’s Associate Director of Communications, Breaking News & Rapid Response Jake Hyman said. “ADL has been in contact with each law enforcement agency affected by our report and we continue to work with them in addressing the challenges of extremism within their ranks.”
The ADL says it’s important to note that 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, one should bear in mind the possibility that the individual misunderstood the nature of the Oath Keepers. Before taking any action based on this information, they said, an individualized assessment of the individual must take place.
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