BOISE — Idaho's lieutenant governor has deleted a Facebook post in which she is expressing support for an Idaho man who is in federal prison for his role in the Bundy Ranch armed standoff with federal authorities in Nevada in 2014.

Janice McGeachin's post set off a firestorm, as she was seen in a photo posing with two members of an Idaho Three Percenters pro-gun rights group who were using a hand sign associated with the Three Percent movement but which is also associated with white supremacy.

In the photo, McGeachin is making a heart sign with her hands, under the words, "Sending love to Todd Engel from the Idaho Capitol." She is standing between two men, both co-founders of the Idaho Political Prisoners Foundation who were dressed in prison garb with “Engel” on the front.

"The photo was intended to show support for Engel and nothing more," McGeachin wrote in a statement released Friday afternoon. "I took a photo with two Second Amendment supporters who were here to support Todd Engel, an Idahoan who was treated unjustly by the court system for standing up for our fundamental rights as Americans. They were part of a larger group who had come to the Capitol to protest Engel's imprisonment."

McGeachin's support for Engel, who has been called "a political prisoner" by his supporters, and for posing for a photo with two white men who appeared to be flashing a "white power" hand sign drew criticism throughout the day Friday.

McGeachin stayed locked in her office for much of the day, then left the Statehouse at 1:45 p.m. without further comment other than her issued statement.

When she left her office, heels in hand, McGeachin declined to answer questions from reporters about whether she would be meeting with the governor or with Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, or returning to the statehouse later in the day.

Marissa Morrison, the press secretary for Gov. Brad Little, said that the governor would not be commenting on the Facebook post Friday, as McGeachin "left the Capitol early Friday afternoon" and he did not have a chance to speak with her due to his busy schedule.

“So, I don’t think we’ll be releasing a statement until he has a chance to talk to her,” she said.

McGeachin, a Republican from Idaho Falls, took office in January after being elected as Idaho's first female lieutenant governor.

The men in the photo are both making a hand gesture — three extended fingers with the thumb and pointer finger touching — which, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, is a symbol representing the group Three Percenters, a Second Amendment rights group. The "OK" symbol has also been used by the far right, including white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League, though it's believed to have originated as a hoax.

"I wholeheartedly reject bigotry and discrimination in all of its forms," McGeachin's statement says. "Throughout my public service, business career, and my personal life, I've always treated everyone with respect and dignity. Once I discovered that a few people had begun erroneously assigning sinister motives which are contrary to my true character, I immediately deleted the post."

Engel, an Idaho native, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in July for his role in a 2014 standoff near the Nevada ranch of Cliven Bundy, in a dispute with the government over grazing rights on federal land, according to the The Spokesman Review.

Engel, who wielded a loaded gun during the standoff with federal agents, was found guilty and charged with obstruction and traveling across state lines in aid of extortion. Charges were dismissed against Bundy, two of his sons and an independent militia leader.

Anthony Dephue, one of the men in the picture with McGeachin, told the Idaho Press he and James Ward, the other man pictured, went to the Capitol solely to shed light on the “fatal flaw in due process” for Engel’s case.

"That’s why we were there," he told the Idaho Press. "We are being mischaracterized by something that is entirely not related to it."

Dephue, vice president of the Real III% of Idaho, said he showed the Three Percenters' hand gesture because Engel was also affiliated with the group.

LAWMAKERS' REACTIONS

Sens. Buckner-Webb, Michelle Stennett and Maryanne Jordan with the Senate Democratic leadership released a statement Friday morning expressing concern with McGeachin's post.

While acknowledging their commitment to free speech and openness, they are also "mindful of our responsibilities as elected officials to hold ourselves to a higher standard; to be thoughtful in our words and behavior," the statement read.

"We have heard numerous grave concerns overnight and today from constituents who are now fearful of coming to the statehouse. Some have said they will not allow their children to visit," the statement reads. "The openness of the statehouse is foundational to our service. Whatever the intention of the post, the impact has resonated negatively across the state."

Buckner-Webb, the only African-American member of the Idaho Legislature, told the Idaho Press, “My phone was on fire last night from people all over the state, calling to express their concerns. Some were saying, ‘I'm not going to let my kids come on their field trip to the Capitol.’”

“It’s disconcerting," Buckner-Webb said of McGeachin's post. "She’s in a very high-visibility position, not only being the lieutenant governor, but also the first woman. So the scrutiny is amplified. I don’t believe there is any ill intent. I’m hopeful I can have a conversation with her. … She needs to understand the impact.”

Buckner-Webb said she and Sen. Maryanne Jordan went to McGeachin’s office Friday morning to discuss the matter with her, but she was in a meeting; McGeachin then dropped by Buckner-Webb’s office just before the Senate convened, and the two clasped hands but didn’t have time to talk.

Buckner-Webb said she even turned off her phone Thursday night; it was full again Friday morning. ”It’s crazy,” she said.

If she could give one message to McGeachin, Buckner-Webb said, she said it would be, “Janice, intention can be one thing, and impact is another. … I just think you have to use some common sense. … The impact of our actions, no matter what our intention is, you have to be cognizant. We are accountable. These misunderstandings can be deal-breaking. They can be very difficult, particularly when it comes to things that have to do with race and prejudice.”

She added, “I really believe we have to raise the bottom. We’re all judged by that, all of us — all of the people working in the Capitol.”

Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, emerged from McGeachin's office to distribute the lieutenant governor's statement to reporters after a 15-minute visit Friday afternoon. Boyle said there was nothing wrong with the Facebook post.

“I’ve know Janice for decades," Boyle told reporters." "I know her heart. She’s a good person. She believes in our constitutional rights.

“I would not have taken it down,” Boyle said, “because there was nothing wrong with what happened here. These were Idahoans, showing support for Todd Engel, who was convicted wrongly. That symbol that has nothing to do with white supremacy at all, that is the Three Percent symbol.”

The Idaho Press called several local Republican legislators Friday. Only Sen. C. Scott Grow of Eagle answered the phone, saying he did not have prior knowledge about the Facebook post.

TODD ENGEL

In 2017, 53 Idaho GOP lawmakers urged U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to ease charges against four Idahoans charged in the Bundy standoff. The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley.

That included Engel, of Boundary County. Lawmakers asked he be released for time he had already served as his sentence, the Spokesman Review reported.

Engel traveled to Bunkerville in 2014 with the intent to commit violence against Bureau of Land Management officers who were executing a court order on Bundy’s land, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Engel wielded a loaded AR-15, hid behind concrete barriers and impeded agents. Engel was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, though Bundy’s felony conspiracy and weapons crimes were dismissed, according to the report.

“It is very frustrating when the core defendants have not paid a price for the actions that Todd is now sitting in jail for,” Warren Markowitz, Engel’s attorney, said following the sentencing in July.

In her written statement Friday, McGeachin said, "The photo was intended to show support for Engel and nothing more. No other messages were intended in this photo. To claim otherwise is ridiculous, and is part of a larger narrative to paint conservative leaders as embracing identity politics."

Dephue and Ward had spoken with McGeachin previously about Engel, but Thursday they ran into her in the hallway. That's when the photo was taken.

"Todd did not threaten anyone or point a weapon. He was cleared by a jury of all gun-related conspiracy charges," Dephue said in a Thursday night Facebook post to the 43rd State Blues' page. "In my opinion, he does not deserve 14 years for this. That's why I went. There is no element of militia, white supremacy, or anything of any negative connotation. Those are delusions. I came to raise awareness for due process and judicial rights because I think they were denied to Todd Engel."

'OK' SYMBOL

The Three Percenters have used the "OK" hand gesture to symbolize their claim that "only three percent of American colonists fought against the British in the American Revolution," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The three extended fingers represent the three percent.

The Idaho Press reached out for comment from the national Anti-Defamation League seeking explanation of the “OK” symbol and its origin. The league shared a blog post from September 2018. According to the post, the “OK” hand gesture originated as a hoax in February 2017 from the 4chan website when an anonymous user announced “Operation O-KKK” and asked other members to “flood Twitter and other social media websites ... claiming that the OK hand sign is a symbol of white supremacy.”

Since then, the symbol has been used by the far right, including white supremacists, but also by Donald Trump supporters who likely do not know the symbol’s origin, the league wrote. Primarily, the symbol intends to trigger or troll people on the left.

“The fact that white supremacists, the alt lite and many Trump supporters all use the symbol means that one cannot assume that anyone who poses with such a gesture is intending or exhibiting an association with white supremacy,” the league claims. “Only if the gesture occurs in context with other clear indicators of white supremacy can one draw that conclusion.”

J.J. MacNab, an author and fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, tweeted Friday about McGeachin's picture, saying the men in the photo were using the Three Percenters signal, not the "OK" hand gesture associated with white supremacy.

"They are flashing the III% hand sign. It predates the OK hand sign and is not related to it," MacNab wrote in a tweet. "The III% sign is palm in. The OK sign is palm out."

CAMPAIGN CONTROVERSY

This isn't the first time McGeachin has been called out over something she posted to Facebook.

During her campaign in July, she wrote a post supportive of President Trump, to which one man replied, "I'm proud to be white again! Go Trump and may God be on your side Janice McGeachin this November!" That day, McGeachin responded to him, writing, "Thank you Bob!"

The following week, McGeachin told Idaho Reports her comment was only meant to thank the man for his support of Trump and her campaign.

Idaho Press reporters Tommy Simmons and Betsy Z. Russell contributed to this report.