TL/DR –
The Michigan Preppers Facebook group, founded by a part-time steel company worker, has seen its membership nearly double to 18,000 since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The founder attributes this growth to increased feelings of turmoil during President Joe Biden’s term, fueled by global wars, protests, rising costs, and political uncertainty. The group’s belief in self-reliance aligns with Michigan’s history of self-styled militia groups that support individual liberties and harbor suspicion towards government power.
Michigan Preppers Facebook Group Membership Surge Amid Unrest
Michigan Preppers, a private Facebook group, has seen its membership nearly triple to 18,000 from 8,000 since the start of the Covid pandemic. The group’s founder credits this surge to the perceived unrest during President Joe Biden’s reign. Global wars, escalating costs, persistent protests and another presidential run shadowed by the notorious Jan. 6 Capitol riot and a subsequent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, have left preppers on high alert.
“If Trump doesn’t return to the office, I foresee either a military coup or a second civil war,” warns a part-time steel company worker from the group. He believes that while this won’t transpire immediately, the groundwork is being laid. Alarmist political discourse is stoking fears about the future, particularly in Michigan, a hotly contested state, where the prepper ethos of self-reliance is aligning with the region’s history of independent militia groups that advocate individual freedoms and suspect government authority.
Michael Clark, a rural Trump supporter, says, “I don’t recognize this country. I don’t recognize this world.” People, according to Clark, merely aspire to secure their families’ futures.
Clark, 69, identifies as a moderate prepper who is prepared for potential crises. His wife uses a pressure canner to preserve meats. At this month’s Great Lakes Emergency Preparedness Expo in southern Michigan, Clark sold health supplements and beauty products containing colloidal silver, a substance believed by some to treat diseases, but not officially endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration.
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