Chicago Police Chief Vows To Fire Officers Tied To The Oath Keepers & Other Far-Right Groups

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling pledged to fire any officers within the Chicago Police Department who have connections to hate groups and far-right extremist organizations, like The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. 

The catalyst for his response was a series of articles by the Chicago Sun-Times, which revealed that nine members of the Chicago Police Department were listed in leaked rosters associated with the anti-government extremist group, the Oath Keepers.

Snelling emphasized that the investigations into these affiliations would be rigorous and comprehensive. His remarks kicked off the examination of the CPD’s proposed budget for 2024 by the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee.

“Once those investigations have been completed, and due process is served, we will do everything that we can to remove those members from our ranks,” Snelling stated. “It serves the Chicago Police Department in no way to have members amongst our department who are members of hate groups. And we will not tolerate it.”

During the committee meeting, Alderman Pat Dowell expressed the urgency of removing members of hate groups. Alderman Matt O’Shea echoed this sentiment and said officers with ties to the Oath Keepers had no place in the CPD and that rebuilding trust was crucial.

Bureau of Internal Affairs Chief Yolanda Talley estimated that the investigations would take approximately six months to complete.

Talley also claimed that recent media reports had exaggerated the number of officers connected to the Oath Keepers.

The Sun-Times had reported that a total of 27 current and former CPD members had links to the organization.

Talley claimed that before the media reports, there was no evidence within CPD leadership indicating officers’ ties to the Oath Keepers.

The Sun-Times, however, had obtained a letter from the Anti-Defamation League sent to police leaders in August 2022, which identified eight Chicago cops with ties to the Oath Keepers. These revelations prompted a renewed inquiry into the officers in question.

It is unclear whether the associations will result in the officers’ terminations.

City Council members, civil rights groups and police reform advocates have been enraged by the Chicago Police Department’s slow reaction to the evidence that indicates the presence of extremism within its ranks.

Despite recommendations from inspectors, multiple officers have remained on the job despite their affiliation with far-right anti-government groups.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has the authority to establish policies for the Chicago Police Department and currently has one in development that would broaden the range of “criminal” organizations from which officers are barred association.

This policy would specifically include groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has called upon Chicago officials to “adopt clear and unambiguous policies and procedures prohibiting city employees from actively associating with hate and extremist groups.”

Leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been convicted of leading the assault on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.