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ADL Special Reports: Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies
- Index / Summary
- Introduction
- Part One: Anger in the Mainstream
- Part Two: Anger on the Fringes
Related Links
- Download a PDF of this report (.97MB)
- Press Release: Report: Rage Grows In America Conspiracy Theories Fuel Anti-Government Fervor (11/16/2009)
Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies
The Three Percenters
The Three Percenters are a loosely organized movement that apparently formed in late 2008, centered around an obscure and not particularly accurate Revolutionary War “statistic” that suggested that only 3% of the American population during the Revolutionary War participated as combatants in the war (the actual figure was nearly twice that). Three Percenters claim that they are a modern counterpart to that mythical 3% of American Revolutionary-era patriots.
In the words of one Three Percenter:
“The Three Percent today are gun owners who will not disarm, will not compromise and will no longer back up at the passage of the next gun control act…We will not obey any further circumscription of our traditional liberties and will defend ourselves if attacked…We are committed to the restoration of the Founders’ Republic, and are willing to fight, die, and, if forced by any would-be oppressor, to kill in the defense of ourselves and the Constitution that we all took an oath to uphold against enemies foreign and domestic.”
The movement started on the Internet but eventually moved into the real world, with members designing a flag and military-style patches (some of which appear to have been applied to their uniforms by active duty soldiers). One of the active proponents of the Three Percenters is the Alabama-based Mike Vanderboegh, who in the past has been involved with the militia movement and the anti-immigration border vigilante movement.
To date, the movement is still small, but appears to be growing.
