Newly released data shows that the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) organization—a so-called heritage group known for its efforts of preventing the removal of Confederate monuments—counts elected officials, military officers, public employees, and more among its members.
The national SCV membership data was cited in a new report by the Guardian’s Jason Wilson, who said Monday that a hacktivist had shared the data while keeping their identity private for safety reasons. Data shared includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for nearly 59,000 past and present members.
Of the nearly 59,000 past and present members, 91 of them are reported to have used email addresses associated with government agencies and 74 are said to have used addresses connected with various armed forces branches. According to the hacktivist, who noted this has been an issue for the group for several years, the organization’s website “had been misconfigured,” which resulted in access to membership rolls and other data.
Notable inclusions in the membership data is Scott Wyatt, who currently reps the 97th district in Virginia’s house of delegates, and Osage county coroner Duane AJ Probst in Missouri. Both Wyatt and Probst are listed as active in the group, as is Texas A&M University professor and program director Dr. Danny W. Davis.
More alarming, however, is the fact that several other members have been reported to have participated in the fatal Unite the Right rally in 2017. Others, meanwhile, are said to also be members of more outwardly violent neo-Confederate groups.
In April of this year, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association in Georgia denied the SCV a permit to celebrate Confederate Memorial Day.
And in Virginia this month, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously voted to remove two Confederate statues from public display in local parks.
