‘An unfortunate arms race’

Garrett, the author and academic, spent three years visiting eight counties and interviewing hundreds of preppers for his 2020 book “Bunker,” which explores the philosophies driving the prepper movement. He said Miller’s Fortitude Ranch reflects a typical libertarian-focused prepper mindset in which the government is inherently incompetent and that everyone is more or less on their own.

But he said some liberals, especially younger ones, were shocked into action by the pandemic and the federal government’s response to the George Floyd protests – they had never personally experienced such government failure or hostility before and suddenly feel vulnerable. He said the upcoming presidential election is only sharpening those concerns on both sides of the nation’s divide.

“We do have this authoritarian streak running through the right, and prepping plays into that,” he said. “They are prepared for violence, no question.

“But you’re also seeing an increase in militancy on the left. I’m seeing a lot of liberal preppers buying guns, saying that they waited too long. It’s an unfortunate arms race that I do think we’re going to see escalating as we head into the election, particularly if it’s Trump versus Biden.”

Garrett said many of the younger preppers, while worried about a fascist federal government under a second Trump administration, are also concerned about the growing impact of climate change. He said there’s a shift back toward being prepared for disasters in a way people routinely were 100 years ago, especially in rural areas.

“You’re seeing a lot of people who are not worried about the apocalypse but if the power goes out for three days,” he said. “You’re seeing more prepping but less extreme prepping.”