Ranks of Neo-Confederate Group Include Politicians and Military Officers

The organization has attracted members from both the military and political spectrum, and overlaps with other right-wing extremist groups responsible for more violent actions.

Leaked membership data from the neo-Confederate Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) organization has revealed that the organization’s members include serving military officers, elected officials, public employees, and even a national security expert with supposedly high-level security clearance, reports The Guardian. The group, which is organized as a federation of state chapters, has recently made news for increasingly aggressive campaigns against the removal of Confederate monuments. This has included legal action against states and cities, the flying of giant Confederate battle flags near public roadways, and Confederate flag flyovers at Nascar races. 

The national membership data reveals the names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of almost 59,000 past and present members of the organization, including 91 who used addresses associated with government agencies for their contact email, and 74 who used addresses associated with various branches of the armed forces. One member listed as active in the data is Scott Wyatt, who represents the 97th district in Virginia’s house of delegates, which comprises rural counties north of Richmond. A number of members listed as active members use email addresses associated with The Citadel, a public military academy located in Charleston, South Carolina.