It was just one part of Mike Fendt’s weekly schedule for some 19 Arizonans to meet in a squat Baptist church to discuss preparing for a possible social collapse.

During the first week of October, he decorated a trailer on a road near his north Phoenix home with posters supporting former President Donald J. Trump. Over the weekend, he tentatively planned to shoot targets in the high desert with local militia groups.

Mr. Fendt, who is about 60 years old, is a member of the Dewey Humboldt Prepper Group, based outside Prescott, Arizona. At a “prepper” gathering held every Thursday, Trump wore an exciting MAGA strong shirt. In July, he was shot by a would-be assassin during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and raised his fist.

Fendt, a Turkish Tisas 9mm handgun strapped to his hip, listened as Preppers co-leader Josh Rozum led the group in prayer. Rozum asked for God’s help to overcome ongoing natural and man-made crises, including Hurricane Helen, dock attacks on the East and West Coasts, and conflicts in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon. And he included one event that hasn’t happened yet: the presidential election. They wanted things to go smoothly.

The violent rhetoric and misinformation that increasingly fuels political debate has become so ingrained in society that some Americans are concerned not whether there will be another riot like the one on January 6th at the Capitol. I’m asking when it will happen. In an extreme example, the far-right Proud Boys, which took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, sought to question the credibility of the presidential election, interfere with voting, and potentially confuse the results. Organized. Times analysis found.

Tensions are evident in Arizona. Recently, a mail collection box containing ballots was set on fire. Democratic Party field office was shot multiple times..