A kicker ended up being the most polarizing pick during the 2020 NFL draft. With the 159th overall pick, the Patriots selected Justin Rohrwasser from Marshall University. Normally, no one would give a care about a kicker being selected near the end of the draft, but photos of Rohrwasser and his tattoos made the rounds on social media shortly after the pick.
One of the tattoos on his left arm was the logo of the Three Percenters, a right-wing “militia” group that claims to be focused on protecting gun rights in the United States. At least one member of the Three Percenters provided protection to white supremacists during the “Unite the Right” protests in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
Rohrwasser was asked about his tattoo by reporters and he claimed he misunderstood the meaning of it. “I thought it stood for a military support symbol at the time … It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” Rohrwasser told reporters on Saturday after he was drafted. He said that he plans on covering the tattoo, but did not specify how.
The Three Percenters, who take their name from the false claim that 3% of the American colonists fought in the Revolutionary War, were founded in 2008 in reaction to Barack Obama being elected president.
The group is most recently known for vowing to protect Republican senators who were stalling a 2019 vote to lower greenhouse emissions. The Oregon State Capitol was put on lockdown in response to the Three Percenters’ declaration.
According to Herdzone.com, Rohrwasser also has a tattoo that reads “Don’t tread on me”, a slogan that has been co-opted by far-right movements in the United States.
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