In our interview, Arroyo took a bipartisan view on who he believes may instigate a future battle.
“Let’s simply say, hypothetically, the left loses this race, which is trying like that might occur,” Arroyo mentioned. “The unconventional left is violent and may mobilize lots of people to do a number of harm. The correct, in the event that they get pushed too far, have all of the weapons, all of the coaching, all of the expertise.” (Information doesn’t help a both-sides strategy; a report earlier this yr by the Nationwide Institute of Justice discovered that far-right assaults proceed to considerably outpace all different sorts of terrorism and home violent extremism, together with from the left).
However Arroyo mentioned it’s “very probably” that if Trump loses, “the appropriate wing, the Republican Social gathering, some nutcases, are going to get collectively and begin a taking pictures conflict.”
Hours earlier on Zoom, Arroyo was chatting with members of different county preparedness groups from throughout the nation and instructed WIRED that there was just one factor on everybody’s thoughts.
“The primary concern proper now’s the potential of civil unrest due to the election,” Arroyo mentioned. “Whoever wins, one facet’s going to be pissed off, and the opposite facet, the radical-left facet, goes to be extra pissed, and so they’re extra recognized for burning cities to the bottom when they do not get their means. The correct-wing conservative occasion on this nation isn’t recognized for doing any of that sort of factor.” (When WIRED interjected and requested in regards to the Capitol riot, for instance, Arroyo brushed it off, claiming that it was orchestrated by the left).
Slightly than partaking, his recommendation to his members is to hunker down.
Arroyo additionally floated the potential for “black swan” occasions—which have turn out to be a preferred fantasy amongst conspiracy theorists. A black swan occasion is one which has a fantastic impact and couldn’t have been predicted however which seems to be in hindsight to have been inevitable; conspiracists now deal with the time period as a cousin of the “false flag” and outline it as an excessive prevalence orchestrated by nefarious forces to distract from a sinister plot. “They need to take [Trump] out so he can’t get again within the White Home,” mentioned Arroyo. “To create an surroundings during which they’ll declare martial regulation—create a state of affairs, some sort of black swan occasion to halt the election.”
Jim and Janet Arroyo moved from California to Yavapai County within the early 2000s to flee what they noticed as overly restrictive gun legal guidelines.
In Arizona, they discovered a state far more in tune to their gun wants.
“It is a huge gun tradition. Arizona has the most important quantity of privately owned machine weapons within the nation,” Arroyo boasts. “Yavapai County has the most important quantity of machine weapons within the state of Arizona. That is our declare to fame.”
(A 2021 report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reveals that Arizona didn’t even make the highest 10 states for machine gun possession, and California possession was considerably increased.)
However simply as Arroyo was boasting about Arizona’s welcoming strategy to weapons, the barman approached him and mentioned he wasn’t allowed to have his gun within the bar. Arroyo instructed him he wasn’t consuming, however the barman insisted. “Not an issue,” Arroyo mentioned, and introduced the gun out to his jeep.
You’ll be able to comply with all of WIRED’s 2024 presidential election protection right here.
