Who are the Three Percenters? What experts say
On Monday, the Columbia Police Department confirmed one of its officers had a Three Percenters sticker on his personal vehicle.
That officer was taken off patrol and placed on administrative duty while the department conducts a review.
But who are the Three Percenters, and why did the presence of their logo on a police officer’s car cause an uproar?
What are Three Percenters?
The Three Percenters are a right-wing militia organization who have recently targeted political leftists, Muslims and immigrants, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The Three Percenters logo includes a Roman numeral III, often surrounded by a field of thirteen stars.
After forming in 2008 on a blog run by an anti-government extremist involved in the militia movement, Three Percenters have established a track record of criminal activity ranging from weapons violations to terrorist plots and attacks, the Anti-Defamation League said.
On June 25, the Canadian government listed Three Percenters as a terrorist organization, calling it a ideologically motivated violent extremist group.
It is considered an anti-government militia movement, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In spite of that reputation, in recent years Three Percenters had not been as active in opposing the federal government because many followers strongly supported former President Donald Trump, the Anti-Defamation League said.
That allegiance to Trump did not stop Three Percenters from getting involved in attempts to pass state level gun control measures, state-imposed restrictions and lockdowns to prevent spread of COVID-19, and protests related to the death of George Floyd, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
What does Three Percenters mean?
The Three Percenters name is a reference to the debunked claim that only 3 percent of colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution, according to the Washington Post.
Also known as 3%ers, III%ers, and Threepers, Three Percenters compare their hostility to the federal government with the opposition of American patriots to the British during the American Revolution, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
“Three Percenters believe that, just as a small revolutionary vanguard overthrew the tyrannical British rule in America, a dedicated group of modern patriots could rid the United States of today’s alleged tyranny,” the Anti-Defamation League said.
Who are Three Percenters?
Three Percenters are not one group, but are individuals supportive of an anti-government militia ideology.
Some Three Percenters form militias, while others form non-paramilitary groups or create online networks; even more are active as individual or unaffiliated Three Percenters, according to the the Anti-Defamation League.
In 2020, there were more than 60 branches of Three Percenters across the U.S., according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
III% United Patriots and American Patriots Three Percent are two statewide groups based in South Carolina, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.
By the mid 2010s, there were Three Percenters groups on Facebook with tens of thousands of members, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Where are Three Percenters?
Three Percenters have shown up at Trump and pro-Trump rallies around the country to provide armed “security” against anti-Trump protesters, the Anti-Defamation League said.
In 2020, Three Percenters were involved in a scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to the Washington Post. One of the men accused of being involved in the plot, Paul Edward Bellar, was arrested in Columbia in October 2020, The State reported.
Bellar was not directly linked to a Three Percenters group, but he and six other people are associated with the militia group “Wolverine Watchmen,” according to CNN.
Feeding off Trump’s false claims of election fraud after he lost the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden, Three Percenters in Georgia put pressure on officials to overturn election results, the Southern Poverty Law Center said. Traditionally a red state, Georgia went to Biden in the election.
Six California men connected to Three Percenters were arrested in June on charges they plotted to assault the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, The New York Times reported.
A violent mob of roughly 1,000 pro-Trump supporters pushed past Capitol police and broke into offices and the House and Senate chambers, briefly disrupting Congress’ affirmation of the Electoral College vote.
“Recent events should remove any doubts about the serious threat posed by ideologically-motivated violent extremism,” Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair said.
