Wisconsin police chief joined Oath Keepers in 2017 - The Badger Project

Town of Dover Water Patrol Chief Josh Martinson’s name was on a leaked membership list of Oath Keepers. The chief says he “cut ties” after learning “what they stood for.”

The police chief of the Town of Dover Water Patrol signed up for membership with the Oath Keepers, the right-wing, anti-government group involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Chief Joshua Martinson, who has been employed by the Dover Water Patrol since 2015, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, joined the Oath Keepers in 2017.

“The group was described to me as a group for veterans of military branches and law enforcement officers because we took oaths,” he wrote in an email to The Badger Project.

“It wasn’t til I found out more about the group and what they stood for and what they were about that I cut ties with them a couple months after signing up,” Martinson wrote. “I never attended an event or displayed any of their materials ever.”

“Haven’t really thought about them since I found out (what) they were really about,” he added.

The Oath Keepers list also includes members’ personal information such as home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, which The Badger Project is not publishing.

The Town of Dover Water Patrol polices Eagle Lake in town and the adjacent park, homes, businesses and other areas along the shore. It operates mostly during the summer. Martinson’s position is part-time.

The Town of Dover is in Racine County in the southeastern part of the state.