Report finds the owner of a truck with a Three Percenter logo at the Capitol riot is married to a lawmaker

Report finds the owner of a truck with a Three Percenter logo at the Capitol riot is married to a lawmaker
Rep. Mary E. Miller // House Creative Committee, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Frontpage news and politics

The Three Percenters are among the far-right militia groups that were present in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 and have been investigated by the FBI in connection with the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol Building that day. And according to Daily Beast reporters Adam Rawnsley, Kelly Weill and Jackie Kucinich, Republican Chris Miller — a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and the husband of GOP U.S. Rep. Mary E. Miller — had a Three Percenter sticker on his Ford pickup truck the day of the Capitol insurrection.

The 66-year-old Chris Miller acknowledged that the truck belonged to him, although he told the Beast that he "never was (a) member" of the Three Percenters and "didn't know anything about 3% till fake news started this fake story and read about them."

In an e-mail to the Daily Beast, Chris Miller wrote, "Army friend gave me decal. Thought it was a cool decal. Took it off because of negative pub."

Because of his use of the term "fake news," one might assume that Chris Miller is a supporter of former President Donald Trump — and in fact, Chris Miller and his wife, 61-year-old Mary Miller, are both strong Trump supporters. He serves in Illinois' state government, while his wife was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives via Illinois in 2020 and has served on the House Education Committee as well as the House Agriculture Committee.

In Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5, the day before the Capitol riot, Mary Miller spoke at the pro-Trump "Moms for America" rally — where she told the crowd, "Hitler was right on one thing: whoever has the youth has the future." She has since apologized for that remark, saying that she wasn't trying to praise Hitler.

Rawnsley, Weill and Jackie Kucinich note that militia groups "have garnered new attention from law enforcement given the number of members arrested and charged with riot-related crimes since Jan. 6" — and that includes the Three Percenters.

According to an FBI affidavit, Colorado resident Robert Gieswein — one of the people who is facing criminal charges in connection with the Capitol insurrection — "appears to be affiliated with the radical militia group known as the Three Percenters."

Rawnsley, Weill and Jackie Kucinich say of the Three Percenters, "The group, which first formed in 2008, is part of a loose network of 'anti-government extremists' who liken their crusade against the U.S. government to that of Revolutionary War-era patriots, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Their name comes from the false claim that only 3% of U.S. colonists fought in that war."

The Beast reporters note that the Three Percenters decal on Chris Miller's truck on Jan. 6 "may have been a relatively new addition" because it "was not visible in images" of the vehicle "from this summer."

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