Viewers of the current season of TLC’s teen pregnancy reality series Unexpected got a bit curious when they noticed that the network was censoring the tattoos on the wrist of Jenna Ronan’s dad, Matt Ronan. By checking Matt’s Facebook page, you can see that the tattoo that TLC blurred out is the Roman numeral 3 surrounded by a ring of stars, which is the logo of the anti-government militia group The Three Percenters.
From Wikipedia:
The Three Percenters, also styled 3 Percenters, 3%ers and III%ers, are an American and Canadian far-right, anti-government militia movement.
The group advocates gun ownership rights and resistance to U.S. federal government. The group’s name derives from the erroneous claim that only three percent of American colonists were actively fighting in the field against British forces at any given time during the American Revolution.
Given the far-right ideology of The Three Percenters, they are often lumped in with similar groups that embrace racism and Neo-Nazism — ideas that The Three Percenters have publicly stated they do not support. After the 2017 Unite the Right rally, the group’s Facebook page included numerous racist comments made by its supporters. In response, The Three Percenters issued a statement that they “strongly reject and denounce anyone who calls themselves a patriot or a Three Percenter that has attended or is planning on attending any type of protest or counter protest related to these white supremacist and Nazi groups.”
Despite the group’s attempts to distance themselves from these other “white supremacist and Nazi groups,” a large portion of the public and the media still lump them in all together. As a result, many Unexpected viewers started accusing Matt Ronan of being a racist, white supremacist, and Nazi.
MATT RONAN DEFENDS 3 PERCENTER TATTOO
Matt responded to the accusations with a Facebook post back in January. “I don’t even know where to start with this BS but here it goes,” Matt wrote, along with a photo of his wrist tattoo. “I have a 3%er tattoo and the reason I got this was because I believe wholeheartedly in the 2nd amendment and I’m against Government OVEREACH!”
“I’m NOT anti Government for God’s sake I worked for them for 21 years, my entire adult life,” Matt continues. “I’m NOT part of this group I just believe in those 2 things, that is all. This is America last I checked and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with believing in something and having different opinions. To say I’m a racist or part of a racist organization is absolutely nonsense and I can’t explain how much that angers me.”
“I am not going to apologize for believing in the 2nd Amendment or being against the Government overreaching their powers. If that’s wrong then I don’t want to be right.”
One commenter asked, “What does it mean?”
“It means exactly what I posted about supporting the 2nd amendment and who the heck wants the government more involved in our day to day lives,” Matt responded. “That’s what it means to me.”
MATT RONAN ON THE CAPITOL RIOT
The January 6 storming of the US Capitol building can serve as a bit of a litmus test for far-right ideology, and Matt was very clear with his thoughts about the historical event as it played out. “This is an absolute disgrace..” he wrote on January 6. “I don’t care what side of the [aisle] you’re on.. what the other parties have done in the past or what this party is doing now. The fact that we are where we are is disgusting. All the idiots that stormed that building need jailed.”
“How do you know who all was in in that crowd?” a commenter asked Matt. “Maybe anti Trump people were mixed in?”
Matt was very clear with his answer. “I don’t care who it was and who they support it’s not supposed to work like that.”
THREE PERCENTERS DISSOLVE
The Three Percenters took the same stance as Matt, but the group was once again unable to distance themselves from other similar groups who supported and actively participated in the Capitol riot. As a result, The Three Percenters officially disbanded. Here is their “Final Statement:”
After much deliberation and discussion, the National Council has determined that with all of the negative light being cast, from either members of other “Three Percenter” groups or the movement in general, we must dissolve this organization effective immediately. It appears that other “Three Percenter” groups no longer hold the values and morals that we have held in our organization for so long. The DC riots and Capitol breach has hurt the patriot movement drastically and as a result brought an end to our organization. It’s quite unfortunate that we’ve come to this. The media refuses to differentiate between the different “Three Percenter” organizations and groups, leaving all of the fingers constantly pointing towards us. We were determined to always hold high standards and morals, and be an ensign to all other patriot groups to look to. Violence is never the answer and we have condemned those who fought with police and stormed the Capital on January 6th. In order to enact change the legal avenue is the only avenue and the only answer. We bid farewell to our patriot community and wish them well in the journey forward.
Sincerely,
The National Council
The Three Percenters – Original
MATT SUPPORTS DAUGHTER JENNA RONAN
Matt’s claims that his anti-government and pro-2nd Amendment beliefs are divorced from racism seem to be backed up by his support of daughter Jenna having a black boyfriend before she started dating Aden:
And speaking of Matt supporting Jenna, he has done nothing but sing her praises publicly throughout the pregnancy and after. Here are some examples of his supportive Facebook posts over the past year, including an entry on December 20, which was the day that Unexpected premiered:
May 17, 2020
“Never in a million years did I imagine my daughter getting pregnant at 16. That wasn’t the plan, that’s not how it was going to be. Those were my plans and my feelings on how things were going to play out… But I couldn’t be happier for the young woman that she has become and the mother I know she will be. And this young man…. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s going to be a phenomenal father and husband!!
“This clearly wasn’t the plan I had envisioned for my daughter, but I must say we are so very excited about this next chapter that will start to be written in 5 weeks.
“And next time you see a teenage couple and start to judge them, think again. They aren’t all going to turn out to be a statistic, and I guarantee these two won’t.”
September 28, 2020
“Approximately 10 months ago Aden pulled me aside for a conversation. I had a sick feeling in my stomach what the topic of discussion was going to about.
“I couldn’t be more proud or impressed with how these 2 kids have handled the pregnancy, the teenage issues that are always present and actually being parents… They absolutely amaze us!!
“We love you so damn much.”
December 20, 2020
“She’s crazy nervous about this tonight but I can say this for a fact, she has exceeded ALL expectations I would have ever [placed] on any woman, let alone a 16 yr old… We are so impressed with you Jennalee Ronan and Aden Albright and the parents you guys have become. It’s pretty amazing to see you and how you’ve both grown. The start of this show isn’t going to accurately paint the picture of who you guys are today.”
January 20, 2021
“From daughter to big sissy then to the most amazing mother I’ve ever witnessed I can’t say how proud of you I am Jennalee Ronan. The personal growth over the past 12 months has been nothing short of amazing we love you so much and hope you have an amazing Birthday. Have the best day ever, you deserve it.”
You can continue to follow Jenna and Aden (and Matt) with new episodes of Unexpected airing Monday night at 10/9c on TLC. Or, you can stream every episode on discovery+!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
