An ally of Donald Trump, Republican Bruce Blakeman is calling for 75 citizens with gun permits who have an interest in becoming “provisional emergency special duty sheriffs”. The advertisement was posted in March and 25 people have already been trained.
But what is this armed group and who is behind? The training of this new force has drawn criticism in the Long Island County which is considered as one of safest in the country and has a large police departments.
Blakeman said the program was to provide another layer of protection for the residents. But from what? Blakeman said from any emergency like a hurricane or blackout or “a riot”.
“I didn’t want to be in a situation where we had a major emergency and we needed help and people were not properly vetted or trained,” he said.
But critics call this an unsanctioned militia which could result in political violence.
An online petition called “Stop Bruce Blakeman’s Personal Nassau County Militia” has received more than 2,600 signatures, New York Times reported.
Blakeman’s office said those who have received training are mostly retired police officials, former veterans and other emergency responders. Preference goes to retired police officers, military veterans and security guards.
Who is behind the project?
Bruce Blakeman is allied with Donald Trump but there is no confirmation on whether Donald Trump is behind the project. The militia controversy hit as Trump is already firefighting over Project 2025 — a questionable blueprint for the next Republican president. Donald Trump said he had no idea who was behind it but reports find out that those who are behind it are all very close to Trump.
“Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff,” CNN reported.