3 Percenters

The "Nyberg Three Percent Flag"

The Three Percenters (also styled "3%ers") is an American "patriot movement"[1] which pledges resistance against the United States government regarding infringement of the United States Constitution.[1] The group's stated primary purpose is to protect constitutional rights[2] and has been characterized as being ideologically similar to the Oath Keepers.[1]

The group's name is based on the American Revolution military's armed resistance against the British. They claim the American Revolution's military constituted three percent of the population. This number does not align with current scholarship, according to which at least 15% of the overall population served in either the Continental Army or state militias.[3] That participation rate of the eligible population is estimated to have been higher than in most other US-American military conflicts; about 375,000 people served a nation of 2.5 million.

Foundation and aims

The movement was started on December 17, 2008. The movement was co-founded by Mike Vanderboegh[4] from Alabama, a member of the Oath Keepers, a group with whom the 3 Percenters remain loosely allied,[5] and who publicized the movement on his blog "Sipsey Street Irregulars" beginning in November 2008.[6] Vanderboegh claims to have formerly been a member of Students for a Democratic Society and the Socialist Workers Party, but abandoned left-wing politics in 1977 after being introduced to libertarianism.[7] The "Three Percenters Club" website was established in 2011 by Michael Graham.[8]

The "Nyberg Three Percent Flag," designed by Gayle Nyberg in 2008, is based on the Betsy Ross flag with the Roman numeral III inscribed in the circle of thirteen stars.

Activities and reception

Vanderboegh self-published a serial novel online, Absolved, in 2008, described as "a cautionary tale for the out-of-control gun cops of the ATF."[9]

Vanderboegh and his novel Absolved first received wider media attention in 2011, when four suspected militia members in Georgia were arrested for an alleged plan for a biological attack that had supposedly been inspired by the novel.[10][11] Vanderboegh distanced himself from the alleged plot.[12]

In 2013, Christian Allen Kerodin and associates were working on construction of a walled compound in Benewah County, Idaho "for three percenters," designed to house 7,000 persons following a major disaster, an initiative which local law enforcement has described as a "scam."[13]

In April 2013, a group of Jersey City police officers were disciplined for wearing patches reading "ONE OF THE 3%."[14][15]

On January 8, 2016, the "3 Percenters of Idaho" group announced it was sending some of its members in support of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, allegedly in order to "secure the perimeter" and to prevent a "Waco-style situation."[16] They left several hours later after being told their assistance was not needed.[17] Two days previously, Vanderboegh had described the occupiers as "a collection of fruits and nuts."[18] "What Bundy and this collection of fruits and nuts has done is give the feds the perfect opportunity to advance their agenda to discredit us," he said.

Though most of those in the movement condemn the militant tactics, Vanderboegh said, they also will not tolerate any reckless violence on the part of authorities.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sunshine, Spencer (January 5, 2016). "Profiles on the Right: Three Percenters". Political Research Associates. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ Tritten, Travis (July 22, 2015). "Army to recruiters: Bs. The lll% is just this. We love our home our neighbors and our communities. We aim to keep them safe from all entities foreign or domestic according to the US Constitution.". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ Allison, Robert (2011). The American Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 79.
  4. ↑ "Longtime militia and 'Patriot' leader Mike Vanderboegh dies at 64". 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  5. ↑ Avlon, John (March 31, 2010). "Anti-government hate militias on the rise". CNN. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ "All about the Sipsey Street Irregulars & Absolved". sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com. Sipsey Street Irregulars. November 15, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2016. Welcome to the website for the Sipsey Street Irregulars, a merry band of Three Percenters who are fans of the upcoming novel by Mike Vanderboegh, Absolved.
  7. ↑ Mencimer, Stephanie (December 14, 2011). "Meet the Former Militiaman Behind the Fast and Furious Scandal". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. ↑ "About Us". threepercentersclub.org. Three Percenters Club. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ Bill Morlin (May 16, 2013). "Michael Brian Vanderboegh". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ Bluestein, Greg (February 11, 2011). "Georgia Militia Plot: Feds Arrest Four Suspected Group Members For Alleged Biological Attack Plan". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (November 3, 2011). "'Online novel' allegedly inspired Georgia terrorism suspects". Los Angeles Times. Jacket Copy blog. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ Gertz, Matt (November 2, 2011). "Fox "Authority" Vanderboegh On His Book Allegedly Inspiring Terrorism: "Did I Mention It Is Fiction?"". Media Matters for America. Retrieved January 14, 2016. Absolved is fiction. I hope it is a 'useful dire warning.' However, I am as much to blame for the Georgia Geriatric Terrorist Gang as Tom Clancy is for Nine Eleven.
  13. ↑ Morlin, Bill (May 16, 2013). "Behind the Walls". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved January 14, 2016. But there's no sign that the latest fantastic plans from antigovernment extremists will ever come to much. Dave Resser, the sheriff of sparsely populated Benewah County, calls the whole thing a 'scam.'
  14. ↑ Conte, Michaelangelo (April 29, 2013). "Jersey City police brass identify a pro-militia clique in the department and say they've been stopped". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  15. ↑ Zeitlinger, Ron (April 29, 2013). "Jersey City police brass identify a pro-militia clique in the department and say they've been stopped". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Hammill, Luke (January 8, 2016). "Oregon standoff: Idaho group arrives to 'secure perimeter, prevent Waco-style situation'". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ "More armed men visit site of Oregon wildlife refuge standoff". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Experts: Oregon standoff may be small, but it's tip of militia iceberg". McClatchy News Service. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
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