In the Face of Trump, Guns Shift to the Left in the United States

On a wooded field near Richmond, in the American state of Virginia, gunshots ring out. Collin is learning to shoot under the blazing sun, semi-automatic pistol in hand.

It is his first gun, recently acquired, like other left-leaning Americans who say they fear the administration of Donald Trump.

For this 38-year-old Democrat voter, the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti – two American citizens killed in January by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis – were a turning point.

“We have people today, who form a kind of private army with powers given by the state, roaming around, assaulting and shooting at people. That scares me much more than ordinary crimes,” he explains, feeling “threatened” by his own government.

Like most of the people interviewed, Collin wished not to be identified by his full name for fear of retaliation.

After taking the step of buying a gun, he decided to enroll, along with his wife, Danni, in a training course taught by Clara Elliott.

Since Donald Trump’s reelection to the White House in November 2024, all the courses offered by this instructor, primarily targeting LGBT people and minorities, have been fully booked.

“It was extremely intense,” says the instructor, who sports a large tattoo of Snow White wielding a submachine gun on the inside of her arm.

A dozen people attended the session that day, first focusing on theory, then moving on to shooting exercises.

Most had never touched a gun before.

Like Danni and Collin, many participants explain their interest in firearms due to the political climate, with tough operations against illegal migrants, dismantling of minority-promoting policies, and extreme polarization.

“A lot of worrying things are happening in the United States,” points out Cassandra, 28, mentioning the actions of ICE, the immigration police.

“It seemed important to me to be informed and prepared,” says the young woman, “nervous” about firearms.

Akemi, 30, on her part, fears “violence from the extreme right”.

“I think that (members of the radical right) feel more authorized to be openly dangerous since Trump came to power,” says the young woman of Latin American descent, asserting she does not trust the police to protect her.

The demand for firearms training has surged after the deaths of two Minneapolis protesters, with requests skyrocketing to progressive structures like Clara Elliott’s.

Although firearms are usually associated with the right in the United States, they now attract a wider audience.

The Liberal Gun Club, a national organization, received nearly 3,000 inquiries in the first two months of the year, more than all of 2025.

Director Ed Gardner explains that such increases are common after major political or violent events, like shootings.

But unlike previous peaks, where interest mainly came from “women and minorities”, the new applicants cover “the whole spectrum”.

“There is a new kind of political threat posed by the Trump administration that makes people much more motivated,” agrees Audie Murphy, a pseudonym, secretary of the John Brown Club of Virginia, a group inspired by anti-racism dedicated to firearms.

“They want to act by preparing in a way they deem more useful than protesting with a sign by the side of the road,” he states.