If I’m not mistaken, the local sheriff said that his department was very familiar with the group and he wasn’t a member. That could have confirmed/debunked the claim.
They weren’t talking to the head of the ROF directly. The first story I read reported that the ADL provided information about his association with the group to the AP. The ROF guy later claimed to have been confused by the ADL’s questions. It sounds to me that the ADL went looking for a connection and forwarded it to the AP for distribution with ‘credibility’.
Interesting...