‘Trump militia’ members relieved but wary

In the woods south of Atlanta, John and Yvette DeMaria are with about a dozen camouflage-wearing, heavily armed Americans huffing and puffing as they scramble to navigate the sprawling piece of property where they train, one weekend a month, to ward off enemies — foreign or domestic.

The DeMarias are with the Georgia Security Force militia, whose members are relieved that Donald Trump won the presidency but believe it would be a mistake to lay down their arms just because he is in the White House.

So they continue taking to the woods to be ready for whatever may come.

“I started to realize that I got very angry because the system has been so abused over and over and over again, making rights out of thin air for people who don’t deserve to get anything,” said John DeMaria, who goes by the nickname Rooster J.

While it’s impossible to track all the groups — they often consist of just a handful of men — experts say militia activity tends to fall off under Republican presidents and ramp up under Democrats. But those who watch militias say life in the Trump era may not follow the same patterns.

For the leader of the Georgia Security Force — Chris Hill, a paralegal by day — the Trump election was a defining moment to be celebrated.

“We’re being called Trump militia. It’s something I’m probably going to wear as a badge now,” Hill said. “I feel a connection to President Trump.”

However, Trump’s presidency could be a powder keg, if those feelings of having a kindred spirit in Trump erupt into a sense of betrayal should he fail to deliver on his right-wing promises.

“What would concern me is that nobody gets more angry than a fan spurned,” said James Corcoran, a professor at Simmons College in Boston who has written extensively about the movement.

Hill remains skeptical of Congress and worries lawmakers will undermine Trump’s conservative agenda by preventing him from building a wall on the Mexico border, repealing “Obamacare” and fulfilling his promise to “Make American Great Again.”

“Even if President Trump is able to do the things that he wants to do, he’s still got Congress to contend with. Congress is the same old dog-and-pony show. All they do is fight. They’re never going to grant us more freedom,” said Hill, who goes by the nickname General BloodAgent.

“A lot of people have let their guard down because he was elected, and I would wholeheartedly say that is a big mistake. … If anything, we should use this time wisely. Like the Good Book says, a wise man prepares, a fool takes his chances.”

Obama and other grievances

The number of militias saw a dramatic spike after the 2008 election of Barack Obama, and there are now an estimated 165 U.S. militias, according to Ryan Lenz, a senior investigative reporter with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

For Hill and his group, the election of the nation’s first black president was their defining moment, the one that signaled to them the U.S. was on the wrong track. They believed Obama wanted to restrict gun rights and forever alter their way of life.

But even before Obama was elected, the DeMarias felt the country was heading down the wrong path, with the military and law enforcement no longer cherished or revered. Yvette DeMaria said she believes political correctness has run amok, with politicians and the courts carving out constitutional protections that stray from the intent of the nation’s forefathers.

She says, for example, the legalization of same-sex marriage and transgender people using the bathroom of their gender identity amount to a war on her Christian faith.

The DeMarias began to look for “like minds” and found the Georgia Security Force through Facebook and a pastor friend. The militia is part of the Three Percenters movement, which derives its name from the belief that just three percent of the colonists rose up to fight the British.

They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution.

While training in the woods, they use hand signals and walkie-talkies to alert the others to where and how many enemies are lurking. They navigate obstacles made of firehoses, logs, scraps of wood and metal

The first two runs are “dry fire” exercises; the guns aren’t loaded.

The day’s last exercise involves live rounds in their weapons — from AR-15s to handguns.

After the targets are riddled with holes, the militia members gather around a fire at a campsite a short walk away to enjoy music and a barbecue.