Neo-Confederate group membership includes politicians and military, leaked data shows
Two groups known for their violent and white supremacist leanings were hacked, exposing their members to public scrutiny
The membership of the neo-Confederate group Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) has leaked, revealing that the organization boasts military officers, elected officials, public employees, and a national security expert.
Several members are also loyal to the violent neo-Confederate group League of the South (LoS), as reported by The Guardian. The publication obtained the national SCV membership data from a self-described hacktivist whose identity is being withheld for their safety.
According to the report, the data reveals the names and personal details of almost 59,000 SCV members, including 91 individuals associated with government agencies and 74 people involved with branches of the armed forces.
The membership data shows addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of past and current members and whether they are currently active.
One active political member is Scott Wyatt, who represents the 97th district in Virginia’s house of delegates, near Richmond, Virginia.
One member listed as active is Dr. Danny W. Davis, a professor and program director at Texas A&M University. He is also a training consultant to the US Army Reserve. Davis said he joined the group because of his “three great-grandfathers” who fought for the Confederate Army.
According to the publication, several high-ranking officials with the SCV participated in and engaged in violent acts at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
On Aug. 12, 2017, hundreds of white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville for the rally to protest the city’s plan to get rid of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Activist Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when white supremacist James Fields drove his car into groups of protesters. As previously reported by theGrio,19 other people were also injured in the violence.
At the time, former President Donald Trump blamed some of the violence on the left.
“What about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at, as you say, the ‘alt-right?’” Trump said at a Trump Tower presser. “Do they have any semblance of guilt? … You had a group on one side that was bad. And you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now.”
Most recently, the Georgia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans group sued the city of Decatur for the return of a 30-foot-high obelisk to a site in front of a Georgia courthouse. The Confederate memorial was reportedly removed in June 2020 and later replaced with a statue of the late civil rights activist John Lewis.
The 30-foot stone pillar suggested the Civil War was fought to uphold ‘Southern honor’ and had stood outside the courthouse grounds in the city of Decatur for 112 years.
In their lawsuit, the Sons of Confederate Veterans argue that a loophole in state law protecting historic monuments allowed city officials to take “collusive action” to remove the structure.
DeKalb County Judge Clarence Seeliger ruled that year that the obelisk had become “an increasingly frequent target of graffiti and vandalism, a figurative lightning rod for friction among citizens, and a potential catastrophe that could happen at any time if individuals attempt to forcibly remove or destroy it.”
Judge Seeliger noted that the monument was a public nuisance. After his final order came in September, a large crane tore down the obelisk as a crowd chanted, “Take it down! Take it down!”
“The world is full of controversy. And if we were to say anything that causes controversy is a public nuisance, that’s an endless road to go down,” said attorney Walker Chandler, who filed the lawsuit.
The monument was ultimately moved to storage after being targeted by demonstrators during protests against white supremacy, racism, and police brutality.
Davis, who left the military as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years, according to The Guardian, said that “when we start taking down monuments, I think that’s wrong,” and that these historic monuments “represent men who were fighting for something they believed in.”
Those beliefs “included slavery, but not only slavery” Davis said, adding: “Do I think the right outcome came out of the Civil War? Yes.”
Davis also made clear to The Guardian, that, “I am not a white supremacist.”
He said some members are mostly “people like me who are interested in history” and “military veterans.”
Meanwhile, the SCV group, which reportedly has chapters in several states, is also making headlines for its aggressive campaign against the removal of Confederate battle flags near public roadways, and Confederate flag flyovers at NASCAR races, per the report.
theGrio’s Renee G contributed to this report.
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