Janice McGeachin is the lieutenant governor of the State of Idaho. She found herself embroiled in controversy when she posted – and deleted – a photo on her Facebook page that appears to show her flashing hand signs with “Three Percenters.”
McGeachin, a Republican and former Donald Trump delegate, took office on November 6, 2018. In a statement, she decried the media coverage over the photo but admitted she deleted it once criticism ensued. On Twitter, she still refers to herself as a “Conservative running for Lt. Governor because I Love America and I Love Idaho! #JoinJanice #KeepIdahoConservative.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Photo Shows McGeachin Posing With Two Men Flashing Hand Signs
Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin facing public condemnation over photo with Three Percenters
According to the Idaho Statesman, McGeachin posted the photo to her Facebook page that showed her posing with two men who were making hand signals. In turn, she fashioned her hands into a heart symbol in the picture, which she deleted after criticism erupted.
The Idaho newspaper reports that the men were wearing orange shirts that referenced Todd C. Engel, an Idaho man who received 14 years in prison for his part in the standoff between rancher Cliven Bundy and federal authorities. Engel was accused of brandishing “a loaded AR-15 assault rifle at officers while he hid behind concrete barriers on an Interstate 15 overpass,” the newspaper reported.
Lt. Gov @JaniceMcGeachin refuses comment to reporter @ScottLoganKBOI after controversial social media post w/ 3 Percenter Group. t.co/usQi4yVK4d
The Idaho Statesman talked to an Anti-Defamation League historian about the hand signals, and he said that he didn’t believe they represented white supremacy or white power but rather that they were symbols attached to the Three Percenter movement. The “OK” hand signal is sometimes associated with white supremacy, although some have argued that’s a 4Chan hoax.
The website of that movement defines it as “a national organization made up of patriotic citizens who love their country, their freedoms, and their liberty. We are committed to standing against and exposing corruption and injustice. We are NOT a militia. However, we do have meetings on local levels.”
However, the ADL says of the group: “The Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, both part of an anti-government extremist movement that has grown since President Obama took office, promote the idea that the federal government is plotting to take away the rights of American citizens and must be resisted…The Three Percenters, formed in late 2008, are a loosely organized movement centered around an obscure, and not particularly accurate, Revolutionary War ‘statistic’ that claimed that only 3% of the American population during the Revolutionary War participated as combatants in the war.”
In a statement released through state Rep, Judy Boyle, Lt. Gov. @JaniceMcGeachin says courts have treated Todd Engel “unjustly.” She says she wholeheartedly rejects bigotry, and says critics are trying to “paint conservative leaders as embracing identity politics.” #idleg #idpol
KTVB-TV reports that McGeachin sent out a statement condemning bigotry. It reads, “I wholeheartedly reject bigotry and discrimination in all of its forms. Throughout my public service, business career, and my personal life, I’ve always treated everyone with respect and dignity. Once I discovered a few people had begun erroneously assigning sinister motives which are contrary to my true character, I immediately deleted the post.”
However, in the statement, she also writes that Engel was treated “unjustly.” She said the photo was intended to show support for Engel and “nothing more.”
2. McGeachin & Her Husband Run Automotive Industry Stores in Idaho
According to a 2017 biography of McGeachin, which she posted to her Facebook page, she and Jim McGeachin, her husband of more than 30 years, “own and operate three businesses in the automotive industry, with stores in Idaho Falls and Boise.”
She explained that the family turned a historic building into an Irish restaurant. The couple has two children, who are involved in the family businesses.
“In 2012, she and her family renovated an historic building in downtown Idaho Falls and established the area’s only Irish restaurant, The Celt Pub & Grill. Janice and Jim have two children, Liza and James, who help manage their family businesses,” the bio says.
3. McGeachin Was a State Legislator & Trump Delegate
Before becoming lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin served as an elected State Representative from 2002-2012, and “served on numerous committees including State Affairs, Revenue & Taxation, Judicial, Joint Finance and Appropriations (JFAC), and Health & Welfare where she served as the Chair,” her bio says.
“She also served on the Joint Millennium Fund Committee, state employee Change in Employee Compensation Committee, Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee, and the Health Care Task Force,” says the bio.
“In addition to her service in the Idaho State Legislature, Janice serves as a Bonneville County Central Committee member, is a member of the Bonneville County Republican Women (and the Chair of Community Relations in 2002), and is the Bonneville County State Committee Woman. She is also a member of the Blaine County Republican Women.”
She also served as the “1st Vice State Chair for the Trump Idaho State Committee and as a Trump Delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio,” says the bio.
4. McGeachin Has an Accounting Degree & Attends a Presbyterian Church
Janice McGeachin graduated from Skyline High School in 1981 and “received her BSBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona in 1985,” her bio says.
The bio adds that McGeachin is a member of the First Presbyterian Church. “She has been involved in children and youth ministries and served as a Ruling Elder within the church,” the bio reads.
She is involved in community service efforts. “Janice’s community service includes having served as the Chairman of the Board for the Idaho Innovation Center and as a Board Member for the Development Workshop and the Mountain River Valley American Red Cross. She is a member of the Idaho Falls Rotary Club, and was an active member of the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way Disbursement Committee,” says the bio.
5. Janice McGeachin Is Idaho’s First Female Lieutenant Governor in History
Janice McGeachin’s election as lieutenant governor marked a historic first for the State of Idaho; she was the first female elected to the position in that state, according to Ballotpedia.
She received 59.7 percent of the vote in the November 6, 2018 general election, defeating Kristin Collum.
The primary was a lot closer, with McGeachin fending off four other Republican candidates.