State Rep. Chris Miller, husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, is facing criticism after it was discovered that the Millers’ truck was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with a Three Percenters sticker.

The vehicle was seen during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Chris Miller attended former President Donald Trump’s speech that preceded the assault on the nation’s Capitol where Congress was counting the Electoral College votes that named Joe Biden president.

Before the attack, Chris Miller was livestreamed in a video that has since been taken down saying, “We’re engaged in a great cultural war to see which worldview will survive.” During the stream he called for rallying against “dangerous Democrat terrorists.”

Now, members of the Illinois General Assembly, as well as the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, are calling for an investigation into the location of Miller’s truck and the sticker on the back of it.

The IDCCA has written to the Illinois Legislative Inspection General Carol Pope regarding the incident.

In an IDCCA press release the association says, “Representative Chris Miller swore an oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois. Miller’s attendance at the rally that turned into a mob and insurrection of our nation’s Capitol is troubling, and to date many unanswered questions remain about his subsequent actions and whereabouts that day. The Legislative Inspector General, at a minimum, should investigate to what extent Miller played a role in the events of January 6, 2021.”

The letter was signed by the association president, Kristina Zahorik.

Part of the letter read, “At minimum, this constitutes the type of conduct that is unbecoming of a legislator and warrants an investigation by the Inspector General.”

However, Chris Miller, csays he was unaware of the meaning behind the sticker he placed on his vehicle before the insurrection at the Capitol.

He offered this statement to The Daily Eastern News regarding the sticker:

“I have never been a member of the 3 percenters. My son received the sticker that was on my truck from a family friend who said that it represented patriotism and love of country. The original group, which has disbanded, was not a violent anti-government group. They were not involved in the Jan. 6th riots. They have issued a statement distancing themselves from the extremists who have copied their name. I have since removed the sticker. My intention was to display what I thought was a patriotic statement. I love our country and consider myself a patriot. My intention was not to hurt or offend anyone but simply to express what I thought was a statement of patriotism. God bless America.”

According to The Daily Beast, Chris Miller emailed the publication “Army friend gave me decal. Thought it was a cool decal. Took it off because of negative pub.”

The publication says he said “never was member” of the militia and “didn’t know anything about 3% till fake news started this fake story and read about them.”

The Three Percenters is an anti-government group.

The group was founded on the false claim that only three percent of colonists fought in the Revolutionary War. The Three Percenters believe they are similar to that claim in that they are a small group of self-proclaimed patriots fighting against alleged tyranny in the United States.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group was active in 2020 promoting several issues including “attempts to pass state level gun control measures, state-imposed restrictions and lockdowns to prevent spread of the coronavirus, and the protests that have taken place around the country over the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.”

This was not Chris Miller’s first experience being closely related to far-right groups like the Three Percenters.

In May 2020 he posted to his Facebook campaign page a video of him speaking at the “Re-Open Illinois Rally.” In the background a Q Anon flag and banner with a Three Percenters symbol are clearly visible. Recent comments under the video reference Chris Miller’s statement on the car sticker, including:

“Shouldn’t an elected official who supposedly doesn’t support Q, III%Rs, not be standing in front of their flags? The symbol didn’t even look familiar when he “thought it looked cool”? Give me a break – he’s a traitor like the rest of them.” (Carlos Angritt)

“What a phony. A mockery to everything Jesus represents. Paying homage to a pagan like JDT. And believes all the lies.” (Yvonne Camper)

The post was made about court decisions that have gone back and forth between higher and lower courts regarding Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 mandates.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].