Who are the Three Percenters? NFAC clash with paramilitary group in Louisville during Breonna Taylor protest
In Louisville, three members of an armed militia were shot at a protest calling for justice for Breonna Taylor on Saturday afternoon (July 25). According to local reports, an argument between Black Lives Matter supporters and members of the far-right Three Percenters militia got out of hand on the corner of Fifth and Jefferson Streets in Louisville on Saturday just after 1 pm. The three people, all members of the NFAC suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The shooter was also a member of the militia. However, the shooting occurred a few blocks away in Baxter Park, where an estimated 200 armed members of the Atlanta-based ‘Not F**king Around Coalition' had gathered before marching toward the main protest site in downtown.
In spite of the shooting, NFAC members headed five blocks toward City Hall, where they stood several hundred feet from the Three Percenters militia. These demonstrations by the NFAC and the right-wing Three Percenters organization took place after some 76 protesters were arrested on Friday. The Three Percenters are a far-right militia movement and paramilitary group. They are advocates of gun ownership and resistance to the US Federal government's involvement in the local affairs.
The NFAC, short for "Not F**king Around Coalition," clad in military-style fatigues, and carrying semi-automatic weapons, aims to bring attention to the fatal police shooting of Taylor in March. It is reported that around 2,500 armed and 300 unarmed militia members took part in the march. The police formed a barricade to separate the two opposing camps. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that a firearm appeared to have "accidentally been discharged" in the NFAC section in Baxter Park, and two people were injured. The victims were rushed to the hospital.
The group's founder, John "Grand Master Jay" Johnson, told ABC News that members of the militia were examining firearms, just before the demonstration when a woman's weapon was accidentally discharged. Johnson called the woman a trainee.
"Today, shortly before 1:00 pm, three people were struck by gunfire as the result of a discharge of someone's gun who was participating in the NFAC demonstration at Baxter Park," Louisville Metro's interim Chief of Police Robert Schroeder said in a statement. "Louisville Division of Fire and LMEMS arrived a short time later and transported all three victims to the University of Louisville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. All involved are members of the NFAC and there are no outstanding suspects."
The investigation is ongoing.