Members of the Three Percenters on Facebook have threatened violence if Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams is elected the next governor of Georgia, The Root’s Jessica Moulite first reported. If she wins, Abrams would be the first black female governor in the United Sates.
The group threatening Abrams calls itself the Georgia Security Force III%, an apparent reference to the movement known as Three Percenters—a term used by those aligned with the militia movement who think of themselves as modern-day colonists who stand ready to defend the nation against government tyranny. The Georgia Security Force published the threatening post on November 3.
Although similar in appearance and ideology to militia groups, leaders of the national Three Percenters movement contend that they are not a militia, and say on a national Three Percenter website that they will not fire “unless fired upon.” But anyone can call themselves a Three Percenter, and reading the Georgia Security Force’s page, the group sure seems like a militia.
The Georgia group’s “about” page states:
Georgia Security Force III% is a company sized element consisting of teams located statewide. Each Team (Platoon) trains and prepares itself in the event of becoming a QRF (quick reaction force) to defend actions taken upon the state of Georgia, The United States of America, and its citizens.
In a November 3 post on the Georgia Security Force III% Facebook page, the writer said that if “commies win Tuesday and go forward with usurping and impeaching, you gotta come through III%.” The post adds, “We want President Trump to kick the shit out of deep state / police state.”
The group takes aim at Abrams directly, calling her a “flag burning, gun grabbing, socialist bitch,” stating the group will “defend our state from you, fuck you.”
“Guns Up!” the post ends.
Another post last night reads “FUCK STACY ABRAMS AND FUCK DEM RATS.”
People identifying themselves as Three Percenters have often hinted at intentions to commit violence. In 2013, Three Percenter Manny Vega warned that members of the movement were “planning and getting ready to mobilize” if nonviolent protest did not achieve their agenda. In 2014, Three Percenter leader Mike Vanderboegh promised a “civil war on a vast scale” if background checks on gun sales passed in Washington State. These insinuations were echoed by President Trump on the campaign trail in 2016.
Members of the militia movement like the Three Percenters have clung to white supremacists. Last year, heavily armed Three Percenters provided de-facto security at the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In Portland earlier this year, we witnessed Three Percenter icons and flags among white supremacist extremists marching with the Pacific Northwest group Patriot Prayer. Clusters of militia groups provided security at a pro-Trump rally in September that attracted extremists.
In her campaign for governor, Abrams has been the subject of vitriolic racism and faces hurdles put in place by her Republican opponent Brian Kemp’s work to rig Georgia’s vote to preserve white Republican control over the state.
