Maybe one day we will again have something resembling law-and-order here in America, but it certainly won’t come before Friday. There have been online postings in dozens of cities that offer as much as $2,500 to anyone willing and able to disrupt the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump this Friday. Though the inauguration itself will take place in Washington D.C., the “disruptions” are not likely to be so localized. As we saw, following the election, there were riots and violent attacks on perceived Trump supporters across the nation. If you are living in areas that were affected by this previously, or in any urban area, blue state or not, taking preparations to protect yourself on Friday are certainly advisable. Here are some steps that you can take to help stay safe.
- If at all possible, stay at home Friday, reduce obvious signs of your presence at home, lock your doors, and be ready to protect yourself if your home is attacked.
- If you are forced to go out on Friday, have a plan in place to get home safely that takes into account which areas in your locale that are likely to see “disturbances” and riots, and make sure to check real-time news updates for your area as many of the “protests” we saw after the election were mobile in nature.
- Do not take “protests” lightly. The whole of the protest does not need to degrade into a violent riot for it to be a deadly threat, the anonymity offered by the mob will embolden the more violent of the group to act in ways they would usually feel forced to restrain.
- In case you are caught off guard while traveling home, or to work, consider the differences for the “gray man” approach to camouflage on Friday versus every other day in your area. Leave your “make America great again” hat at home. Taking steps as simple as wearing a dark hoodie and bringing a bandana to cover your face will provide significant camouflage if you find yourself in the middle of a disruptive group, and shouting anti-Trump phrases laced with profanity couldn’t hurt.
- As always I advocate arming yourself to the best of your ability, taking into account that the threat on Friday will be from a group and not a single attacker.
- It wouldn’t be a bad idea to fill up your gas tank and make sure you have a good supply of water and food on hand in case looting damages local stores and makes goods hard to come by.
Don’t get complacent because the last string of protests and riots didn’t threaten you, the nature of this threat makes it difficult to predict beyond when it will happen, take necessary steps to stay safe.
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