Across America groups of citizens are making preparations for civil unrest after the US election by stockpiling essentials and establishing safe locations to live in isolation for extended periods.
Preppers, as they are commonly known, have been making plans for living off-grid in self-sufficiency for generations. From the threat of nuclear attacks by Russia during the Cold War to the fear the Y2K computer bug would lead to a meltdown of systems around the world there have been many reasons for Americans to consider these preparations over the years.
And with both Democrats and Republicans anticipating violence in the wake of the 2024 election, the number of people filling cellars with canned goods, stockpiling weapons and building water filtration systems has gone through the roof.
According to Pete Robertucci, an author and expert in assessing preparedness, COVID-19 acted as a tipping point for many who considering becoming preppers to take the plunge.
“I think that was the catalyst for people that were initially on the fence,” he told the Express.
“You know, there was always a stigma with preparedness, ‘the Y2K people that were conspiracy theorists’.
“But when Covid came along, people realised that we have a very fragile supply chain here in the United States.
“Our grocery stores have what they call in-time inventory. They don’t have the big warehouses they used to have back in the day, every three days they go ahead and order new inventory.
“So for all intents and purposes every grocery store in the United States, for the most part, has three-day supply on their shelves and Covid really exposed a lot of that.”
Robertucci says the realisation of how quickly essential supplies diminish, combined with the ever-widening chasm between the country’s two political parties is pushing more people to envision the worst-case scenarios.
“A recent poll I just saw said a quarter of Americans right now fear that they will see a civil war in their lifetime here in the United States.
“I don’t think that number’s ever been that high, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a poll on that before.
“People are certainly concerned with civil unrest happening, especially post-election and mostly, to be honest with you, civil unrest should Donald Trump win.
“That is because what we’re seeing is the polarisation of our two political parties.
“The left has gone so far to the left and the right is now getting far to the right that there’s no common ground there anymore.
“The Democratic Party of today is nothing like the Democratic Party of my youth or my father’s youth. They’ve went so far to the left and showed during the riots in 2020 that they’re not afraid to use violence.
“People have seen that and they’re, quite frankly, worried about it.
“The [gossip] within my circles is that should Donald Trump win there’d be civil unrest brought forth by the Antifa groups [and] the left wing extremists. We’re going to probably see that mostly in the big cities.”
This has prompted mutual assistance groups-families and friends who collectively want to make plans to organise in the face of a national catastrophe-to seek out Robertucci to audit their preparations for survival.
After examining every detail of their plans, the author and expert provide a rating and advice on how to improve.
He finds people often focus so much on the perceived threats to their safety that they overlook the most important aspect of prepping.
He said: “A lot of mutual assistance groups when I audit them want to show me that they have 20,000 rounds of ammunition, which is great.
“But then I ask them how much food they have and they’ve got a week’s worth or two weeks’ worth [and you see] their mindset isn’t quite right.
“I do a calculated method [of] 2,500 calories per person per day and then I look at the water and shelter because, ultimately, should civil unrest happen the food’s going to be very hard to come by.”
Social cohesion can be another overlooked aspect of mutual assistance groups’ prepping. It’s easy to forget how being holed up indefinitely with a bunch of acquaintances and their partners can lead to friction.
To ensure groups are as cohesive as possible, Robertucci encourages them to meet regularly and build relationships that have a foundation outside of their plans for a worst-case scenario.
The author believes another reason for the growth in prepping is that groups that once sought to transform the country are now taking a more introspective approach.
He added: “[After] January 6th and the storming of the capital a lot of the militia groups around the United States kind of went away because there was a bad stigma with militia groups.
“Those groups now have faded out or rebranded themselves. [Some said] ‘let’s go into preparedness now’. I’m not saying that every preparedness group was a militia group [but] I think that the mindset has changed.
“It’s not all about bullets, beans and Band Aids anymore. It’s now imore about, OK, let’s take care of our family and our community as opposed to we’re going to start, you know, some type of insurrection or something like that.”
Robertucci is keen to point out that prepping is a simple fact of life in many parts of the United States.
Those who live in areas that could be hit by hurricanes or tornadoes have shelters with food that can last until the disaster subsides.
He believes the inability of the government to administer aid through the organisation FEMA only increases the importance of those in areas at risk of extreme weather conditions to have a plan themselves.
“Preparedness is the way that our ancestors basically lived,” he added.
“You know, in the summertime, you harvested your crops and you prepared everything for wintertime.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘movement’ because that sometimes gives it a bad stigma.
“It’s just something that our forefathers had done in the past and something we’ve lost contact with for the most part.”