Make a Molotov cocktail. How to join Three percenters. Kentucky searches raise alarm
Kentucky ranked above the national average in Google searches tied to violent extremist groups over the last six months, according to a new study from a tech safety firm.
The state’s residents made Google searches related to armed domestic groups at a rate 13 percent higher than the national per capita average, according to Moonshot CVE. Those searches included inquiries on how to join armed groups.
Nearly one-third of Kentucky’s searches connected to extremist movements in the United States were in the study’s highest risk category: “desire to cause harm and join groups.” Some Kentuckians were looking for instructions on how to make bombs, and one of the most-searched phrases in Kentucky was “make a Molotov cocktail.”
Other searches included “qanon plan to save the world” and “how to join Three percenters,” according to the study. Several other searches mentioning QAnon, “Q” and the Three Percenters were included among the top searches.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory group which floods social media with misinformation and baseless theories, including false accusations that prominent Democrats are pedophiles. Many of the people pictured in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6 were seen in QAnon clothing or waving QAnon flags.
At least 11 Kentucky residents have been arrested and accused of participating in the Capitol riot.
The Three Percenters are part of a militia movement that claims to be a small number of “patriots” who fight tyranny, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
But many adherents to militia movements showed support for former President Donald Trump and spent recent years being combative with progressive political groups and minorities instead of opposing the federal government, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
“While it is difficult to determine direct pathways from online searches to offline action, Kentuckians’ interest in Molotov cocktails and joining three percenters indicates a propensity for offline violence,” Moonshot CVE wrote in a publication of its findings.
Data from Moonshot CVE showed most domestic violent extremist searches from Kentucky residents came around Nov. 20 last year, which was just days after Trump began filing lawsuits in which he claimed the 2020 election was stolen through voter fraud.
Fifty-eight percent of the Kentucky residents making the searches were male, according to Moonshot CVE. Residents between the ages of 55 and 64 years old were making 34 percent of all the searches, the most of any age group, according to Moonshot CVE. Residents between 45 and 54 years old were second with 29 percent of the searches.
The highest risk levels associated with search behavior were in Fleming and Laurel counties, according to Moonshot CVE.
At least 13 identified hate groups are operating in Kentucky, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups across the United States.
The Moonshot study was conducted by collecting metadata from Google searches made across the country, according to Moonshot CVE. More than 70,000 high-risk searches were recorded from September 2020 to March of this year.
No personally identifiable information was recorded while collecting the searches, according to Moonshot.
Moonshot is a company that tries to identify and counter violent extremism, gender-based violence, disinformation, and serious organized crime, according to a news release from the company. It was backed by Google and has done work with other companies and organizations.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 12:20 PM.