WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives canceled a session scheduled for Thursday following law enforcement warnings of intelligence pointing to a possible plot by a militia group to breach the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. (Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Tim Ahmann)
Reprinted with permission from American Independent
CNN reported on Wednesday that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have warned of increased communication among extremist groups over a possible attack on the U.S. Capitol on March 4.
Believers in the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory have promoted the false claim that Donald Trump will reassume the presidency on March 4.
According to CNN, Acting House Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett told members of the House of Representatives in a memo that the Capitol Police are enhancing security at the building in response but that there is no evidence of concrete plans for an attack.
"We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4," the Capitol Police noted in a press release. "We are taking the intelligence seriously."
One extremist group being monitored by intelligence agencies over increased chatter is the Three Percenters, a militia group that opposes efforts at gun safety reform. Their name is a reference to the historically false claim that only three percent of American colonists during the Revolutionary War took up arms against the British.
Multiple members of the Three Percenters have been charged by the FBI for allegedly taking part in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Three recently elected Republican members of the House have had affiliations with the group.
Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller, who is married to Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), was seen with a Three Percenter decal on his truck, which was on the grounds of the Capitol during the January 6 attack.
When reporters found out, Chris Miller claimed he did not know about the group until he "read about them" and claimed the story was "fake news."
In Dec. 2019, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) posed for a photo with gun rights activists, who made hand gestures in the photo associated with the Three Percenters. After the photo was reported on, Boebert deleted it from her Twitter account.
The same gesture was seen in a photo posted online Nov. 2018 with a group of men posing outside Shooters Grill, the establishment owned by Boebert that she has frequently referenced in speeches and campaign ads.
Boebert has used language similar to the militia, describing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a "tyrant," and writing "I am the militia" in a post from June 2020.
In January, Boebert posted a photo of receiving a handgun as a gift. The man who presented her with the gun, Duke Everest, is wearing a Three Percenter emblem embroidered on his vest.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) referenced "the Three Percenter guys" in a 2019 video and praised them as "true Second Amendment supporters" and described herself as clapping for them at an event.
Speaking at a 2018 pro-Trump event in Washington, D.C., billed as the "Mother of All Rallies," Greene praised militias as groups who protect Americans against "a tyrannical government."
Neither Miller, Boebert, nor Greene responded to a request from the American Independent Foundation for a comment on this story.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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