MADISON, Wis. — A Madison alder abruptly resigned his position Wednesday night, more than a week after his name appeared on a leaked list of members who had paid to be a part of the far-right group the Oath Keepers.
In a statement to News 3 Now, Ald. Gary Halverson, who represented the 17th district encompassing the city’s east side near East Towne Mall, said his resignation is effective immediately.
Halverson said his property was vandalized in the wake of last week’s news and that his family’s safety needs to come first. News 3 Now reached out to the Madison Police Department for more information Wednesday afternoon; a department spokesperson has not yet responded.
His full statement reads:
“Effective immediately I will be resigning my position as District 17 Alder. The safety of my family will always come first. My wife has PTSD from past trauma and the last week has been extremely triggering. Violence against women is a very real issue and having unknown individuals come onto our property and vandalize it is traumatic. For anyone who has PTSD, or lived with someone who does, knows that when something happens that is triggering, it is absolutely terrifying, and that terror can last for days or weeks or longer. I am unwilling to put her or my family through this any longer. I am deeply saddened that our current state of politics is filled with fear and intimidation tactics. The ends do not justify ANY means. I want to thank Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney for her unwavering support throughout. I also want to thank my neighborhood leaders who have been strong advocates for positive change. I started out on this journey to help my community because that is who I am. I am proud of my accomplishments and have been honored to work with so many great people who live and work in this city.”
Halverson previously said he briefly joined the group in 2020 without vetting it and left within months of joining.
RELATED: ‘I was misled’: Madison alder Gary Halverson listed on Oath Keepers membership rolls
“I thought I joined an organization that welcomed veterans who cared about our democracy,” he told News 3 Now in a statement last week. “I was misled and I terminated the membership two months later in Aug. 2020.”
Halverson joined the city council in April 2021, replacing Samba Baldeh, who was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly.
His term was set to run through April 2023.
News 3 Now has reached out to Council President Keith Furman and Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s office for more information about who will replace Halverson and for their reaction to the announcement.
Last Thursday, Furman and Council Vice President Jael Currie said in a statement they were “disgusted” by Halverson’s past membership in the group.
“It’s [sic] extremist positions have been well known since its founding over a decade ago,” the duo’s statement read in part. “Mere seconds of online research reveal the Oath Keepers as a far-right antigovernment group, not a group for veterans or the preservation of democracy.”
The two alders went on to say that while Halverson “is certainly entitled to (have been a member of the group)… it’s up to him to decide if he can continue as Alder with this secret now being public.”
For her part, Rhodes-Conway tweeted last Wednesday that “The Oath Keepers are not a veteran’s group. This is not OK.”
In a subsequent tweet, she shared a link to a city webpage explaining how to run for the Common Council, adding “And I’ll just leave this here.”
Halverson’s name was one of six Wisconsin lawmakers to appear in the data leak, which the Anti-Defamation League shared last Tuesday. The group cautioned that a person’s name being on the list “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.”
Members of the Oath Keepers, including the group’s founder, are being investigated for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
