COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Columbia police officer has been placed on administrative duty after a sticker with the logo of a right-wing militia group was found on his personal vehicle, the department confirmed Monday.
The officer, who has not been publicly identified by the department, had a "Three Percenters" sticker, police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons told The State. Police declined to say how long the officer has worked for the department.
The Three Percenters is a right-wing militia group that has in recent years targeted political leftists, Muslims and immigrants, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
On July 7, the sticker was seen on the vehicle in the Police Department parking lot on Laurel and Main streets by a passerby, who took a picture and shared it with Police Chief Skip Holbrook, according to the South Carolina Black Activist Coalition.
On the next day, the passerby was contacted by a lieutenant with the department who confirmed the vehicle belonged to an officer, the South Carolina Black Activist Coalition said.
The officer voluntarily removed the sticker after a discussion with police commanders, Timmons said.
Additionally, the officer has been placed on administrative duty and is not currently on patrol while the Columbia Police Department Office of Professional Standards conducts a review, according to Timmons. Police declined to say if the officer is on paid leave.
“As explained to the initial complainant, we take this matter very seriously,” Timmons said.
Police did not say what was involved in the review, how long it might take, or what punishment the officer could face, or if he could be fired.
The South Carolina Black Activist Coalition said it was “alarmed and appalled” by the situation.
“Under no circumstances should any South Carolina officer associated/affiliated with local, county, state, or federal law enforcement be associated in any way, shape or form with any domestic terrorist, white nationalist or white supremacist group,” the South Carolina Black Activist Coalition said.
The lieutenant who responded to the passerby said the officer with the sticker was unaware it was the Three Percenters logo, according to the South Carolina Black Activist Coalition.
“Three Percenters have a track record of criminal activity ranging from weapons violations to terrorist plots and attacks,” according to the Anti-Defamation League’s website.
Alongside groups such as the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters are part of an anti-government militia movement, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Three Percenters have at least one chapter in South Carolina, according to the law center.
The “Three Percenters” flag was seen at the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill insurrection, and the group has appeared at demonstrations on coronavirus restrictions, gun control and social justice, according to The Washington Post.
This is not the first incident involving a Three Percenters logo in Columbia.
In March, a couple on Main Street was threatened by two men who were driving a car bearing a Three Percenters flag.
Witnesses told police a man with a gun got out of the car and threatened a woman. Another man got involved and the second man from the car — who also had a gun — threatened the man, police said. Video released by police also shows the two men exchanging what appears to be a handgun outside Boyd Plaza near the Columbia Museum of Art.
The couple took refuge inside a restaurant, and no injuries were reported.
That investigation was assigned to the violent crimes against persons unit, Timmons said. Further information on the investigation was not available.
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