Boogaloo Patriots

19 April 1775, the date of “the shot heard ‘round the world” and the symbolic start of the American Revolution. Today, Patriots’ Day is recognized in several states as a holiday and observed on the third Monday in April. In honor of Patriot’s Day, let’s look at the idea of patriots and patriotism today.

On 4 June 2004, an ordinary man by the name of Marvin Heemeyer singlehandedly wiped out half the town of Granby, Colorado. Heemeyer was angry about regulations and fines that the city was imposing on him. Thankfully, no one was injured other than Heemeyer who took his own life after two hours and seven minutes of demolishing several buildings, vehicles, and taking out the natural gas service to the town.

Heemeyer, a professional welder, spent many months secretly modifying an ordinary Komatsu bulldozer in his welding shop. Heemeyer was unstoppable in his modified bulldozer, impervious to all the firepower available to local law enforcement, and unstoppable even by other heavy equipment. It was only when his “killdozer” became trapped in a basement of a building that Heemeyer was demolishing that he took his own life.

Keeping this story in mind, let’s engage in a little speculation and “what if”.

In the line of typical anti-gun rhetoric surrounding the gun rights debate, one of the most common things we hear from the anti-gun crowd is the fact that the 2nd Amendment was created to defend against government tyranny which usually leads them to ask something like, “do you really expect American gun owners to be able to defeat the largest military that the world has ever existed?”

This is where the speculation and “what if” comes in. Let’s imagine the nearly apocalyptic environment that we might see during an American civil war. We have never before experienced the United States government turning against its citizens, so we really have nothing but speculation available to imagine such a scenario. However, with the movement towards socialism and a more authoritarian type government, anything is possible.

This type of situation might be just a little easier to visualize right now as the chaos of coronavirus continues, and it’s not just toilet paper that people are hoarding. Gun and ammo sales are at record highs in some areas. The current situation in America is the closest thing to martial law and complete government control that any of us have ever seen.

Imagine a heightened state of martial law with our government calling on the National Guard and possibly other branches of the US military to carry out gun confiscation and quell the uprising of American gun owners reacting to the violation of their rights. During a time of such unprecedented disorder and confusion, let’s say for ease of speculation that 50% of American military and law enforcement keep their oaths and refuse to enforce unconstitutional laws and fire upon fellow Americans. What might that 50% bring with them when they leave? What ordnance, equipment, and knowledge do our soldiers and law enforcement have access to that they might take with them when they abandon their posts to keep their oaths?

Half of the military and law enforcers will then have to go against not only American citizens, but the oath keepers who are leaving their posts and taking the tools of their trade with them. We must also keep in mind all the individuals in America who have been stockpiling guns and ammo for years, the militias that are active everywhere around the country, and of course the Marvin Heemeyers of the world.

“You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”

Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy

The potential force of American patriots during a civil war could be tremendous. If one man can modify an ordinary bulldozer in his personal welding shop into a machine that couldn’t be stopped by an entire town and its law enforcement, what might our oath keepers and patriots come up with to fight a tyrannical government in a time of chaos?

This is definitely food for thought, and worth considering the next time someone throws out the comment about what chance do American gun owners have against the American government. Remember, the American Revolution was fought and won, against the greatest army on Earth, by a bunch of poor, drunk, libertarian farmers.