Democrats and Kinzinger call for investigation of the Republican state representative who had a far-right militia sticker on his truck on January 6

SPRINGFIELD – The decal shows a simple Roman numeral three surrounded by stars, but is linked to a far-right militia group – and a state Republican state legislature from the interior of the state is being asked to explain what he was doing at the window of his nearby pickup truck. the US Capitol during the January 6 uprising.

State Representative Chris Miller denied any involvement with the extremist organization called Three Percenters after his truck was photographed with the sticker on the rear window that day in Washington, DC

“I was never a member of the 3 percent. My son received the sticker that was in my truck from a family friend who said it represented patriotism and love for the country, ”said Miller in a statement. “Since then, I have removed the patch.”

Miller, 67, a cattle farmer from Oakland, southern Illinois, is married to US Congresswoman Mary Miller, a freshman Republican who was quoted last month as saying “Hitler was right in one thing” at a pro-Donald rally Trump.

The symbol on the truck represents the Three Percent, an “extreme right-wing anti-government group that is part of the militia movement” that opposes the authority of the federal government, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The group’s name and symbol stem from its mistaken belief that only 3% of Americans fought against the British in the Revolutionary War and that their struggle against the federal government is similar to that of these original patriots.

Being strong supporters of former President Donald Trump, the group’s activity has focused on “other perceived enemies, including leftists / antifa, Muslims and immigrants” in recent years, rather than the federal government, according to ADL.

Several people with connections to Three Percenter and other similar militia groups were arrested for their participation in the insurrection.

The Millers were in Washington that day.

US Congresswoman Mary Miller told a crowd of supporters at a pro-Donald Trump rally that “Hitler was right about one thing – whoever has youth has the future.” Later, she apologized for the comment.

During a live broadcast from Facebook during the same rally, state deputy Chris Miller said that Trump supporters were “involved in a major cultural war to see which worldview will survive. Whether we will remain a free people under market capitalism or whether they will place us under the tyranny of socialism and communism and the dangerous democratic terrorists ”.

The truck with the Three Percenter symbol and license plates from an elected official from Illinois was first located by an online group, the Sedition Hunters, trying to identify those who participated in the insurrection.

A photograph of the truck with the decal appeared on Twitter.

The truck’s rear window was not the only place where the Three Percenters logo appeared behind the state representative.

Speaking at a Reopen Illinois rally outside the Illinois State Capitol last May, state deputy Chris Miller dubbed Illinois Governor JB Pritzker “a domestic enemy”.

Behind the state legislature was a sign declaring the need for “dangerous freedom” and not “peaceful tyranny”. On it was the same Roman numeral insignia of the Three Percent, without the stars around.

Millers’ legislative and congressional districts in central and southern Illinois have been a focus of extremist violence – with 54 “incidents of hatred, extremism, anti-Semitism and terrorism inside and outside [Rep. Mary Miller’s district] 2019-20 ”, according to the ADL.

In 2018, several members of the “Three Percent Illinois White Rabbit Patriot Freedom Fighters” were arrested in a plot to bomb a women’s clinic performing abortions in downtown Champaign, an area close to Rep. Mary Miller’s congressional district. .

In his statement, Representative Chris Miller defended the organization Three Percenters while distancing himself from the group.

“The original group, which fell apart, was not a violent group against the government. They were not involved in the January 6 riots. They issued a statement distancing themselves from the extremists who copied his name. ”

But state deputy Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, a member of the Anti-Defamation League board, stepped back, saying Miller should “know more”.

“This is absolutely unacceptable for the average person,” Morgan wrote in a tweet. “This is rubbish and disqualifying for an IL General Assembly member, Chris Miller.”

After the decal was revealed, the President of the Illinois Democratic County Presidents’ Association, Kristina Zahorik, sent a request to the Legislative Inspector General to investigate whether Rep. Chris Miller was involved in the January 6 coup attempt.

Andrew Sullender / Sun-Times Archive

“Miller’s participation in the rally that turned into a crowd and insurrection in our nation’s capital is worrying, and so far many unanswered questions remain about his subsequent actions and his whereabouts that day,” the letter said. “The Legislative Inspector General, at a minimum, should investigate the extent to which Miller played a role in the events of January 6, 2021.”

Zahorik said Miller’s conduct had at least “been the type of conduct that would be inappropriate for a lawmaker”.

One of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump, US Representative Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, adhered to Democrats’ calls for investigation.

“Rep. Miller put a militia sticker on his car and is suspected of having been in the uprising, ”wrote Kinzinger. “Our party needs to deal with this and I support further investigations.”

Representative Chris Miller’s statement did not offer an apology, instead saying that his “intention was not to hurt or offend anyone, but simply to express what I thought was a declaration of patriotism.”