On a wooded terrain near Richmond, in the American state of Virginia, gunshots echo. Collin is learning to shoot under the blazing sun, with a semi-automatic pistol in hand. This is his first gun, recently acquired, like other left-wing Americans who say they fear the administration of Donald Trump.
For this 38-year-old Democrat, the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti – two American citizens killed in January by immigration agents in Minneapolis – were a turning point. “Today we have people, who form a kind of private army with powers given by the state, who roam, attack, and shoot 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 to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. After taking the step to buy a gun, he decided to enroll, with his wife, Danni, in a training course taught by Clara Elliott.
Since the election of Donald Trump for a second term in the White House in November 2024, all the classes of this instructor, mainly aimed at LGBT individuals and minorities, have been fully booked.
“It has been extremely intense,” affirms the trainer, who sports a large tattoo of Snow White brandishing a submachine gun on the inside of her arm.
– Ice Cubes –
A dozen people attend the session that day, first dedicated to theory, then to practice with 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, between strong operations against illegal migrants, dismantling of minority promotion policies, and extreme polarization.
“Many worrisome 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,” declares the young nervous woman, wary of firearms.
Akemi, 30, on the other hand, fears the “violence of the far right”.
“I think that members of the radical right feel more authorized to be openly dangerous since Trump came to power,” declares this young woman of Latin American origin, stating that she does not trust the police to protect her.
“The less I deal with the police, the better,” she adds, with noise-canceling headphones on her ears, while other trainees practice shooting at targets representing ice cubes – a reference to ICE (ice is said ‘ice’ in English).
– Peak in Requests –
After the deaths of two Minneapolis protesters, requests for shooting training filed with progressive organizations like Clara Elliott’s have skyrocketed.
Although firearms remain associated with the right in the United States, they now attract a broader audience.
The Liberal Gun Club, a national organization, says it received nearly 3,000 requests in the first two months of the year, more than throughout the whole of 2025.
Its director, Ed Gardner, explains that such increases are not uncommon after major political or violent events, such as shootings.
But, unlike previous peaks, where interest mainly came “from women and minorities,” the new applicants cover “the entire spectrum.”
“Everyone is concerned: elderly people, young people, residents of rural areas… People more on the left, but from all categories,” he elaborates.
According to sociologist David Yamane, a specialist in gun culture in the United States, the novelty also lies in the motivations expressed by these individuals.
Many express concern about the possibility of “a tyrannical or authoritarian government, likely to restrict rights or encourage its supporters to do so,” a “specific” concern in this recent dynamic, according to him.
“There is a new kind of political threat posed by the Trump administration that motivates people much more,” agrees Audie Murphy, a pseudonym, secretary of the John Brown Club of Virginia, an anti-racist inspired firearms group.
“They want to act by preparing in a way they deem more useful than demonstrating with a sign on the side of the road,” he affirms.
