Congresswoman’s husband takes heat for displaying decal of militia tied to Capitol riot
Illinois State Rep. Chris Miller denies being aware of the Three Percenters, despite affixing the right-wing group's symbol to his truck
An Illinois state official who is the spouse of a Republican congressperson is facing backlash for displaying a symbol representing a group that was connected to the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol building last month.
State Rep. Chris Miller, the husband of Congresswoman Mary Miller of Illinois, is facing backlash for having a decal of Three Percenters, an armed far-right group, on his truck the Jan. 6 day that pro-Trump supporters rioted the federal complex. He is now distancing himself and denying any association to the organization, according to USA Today.
Information about Chris Miller having the decal was posted by the @capitolhunters Twitter account, which has been identifying people who took part in the chaos that took place in hopes of denying now-President Joe Biden‘s election victory in November. The decal of the Three Percenters, who the FBI marked as a “radical militia group,” was seen on Miller’s vehicle the day of the riots, the outlet reports.
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An FBI agent stated that the Three Percenters is a “domestic militia that advocates for resistance to the U.S. federal government policy it considers to infringe on personal, local, and gun ownership rights.”
The @capitolhunters account also posted a video of Miller speaking at then-President Donald Trump‘s Washington, D.C. rally that preceded the riot.
“We’re in a great cultural war to see which worldview will survive,” Miller said in the video.
Miller has stated, via an email to the Daily Beast, that he “never was a member” of The Three Percenters and that the decal was a gift from a friend and only put it on his truck because he “thought it was a cool decal.” He wrote that he only found out about the radical group after he “read about them” when “fake news started this fake story.”
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Miller is the husband of Mary Miller, who was elected to her first term to the U.S. House of Representatives in November and was also entangled in controversy the day before the riot. Mary Miller invoked Adolf Hitler in a speech during a “Moms for America” event.
“This is the battle,” she said. “Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ’Whoever has the youth has the future.’”
Miller, who represents the 15th district in southeastern Illinois, apologized for the quote soon after.
“I sincerely apologize for any harm my words caused and regret using a reference to one of the most evil dictators in history to illustrate the dangers that outside influences can have on our youth,” she said.
In regards to her husband’s Three Percenter sticker, a spokeswoman for the congresswoman made a statement on her behalf, saying, “Congresswoman Miller has repeatedly stated that she joins her colleagues in condemning the violence that occurred on January 6.”
It continued, “She and her family were in no way involved in the violent attacks and she continues to pray for the healing of our nation.”
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