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Once thought of as a fringe mind-set, the prepared citizen movement is gaining traction in a world shaped by war, the pandemic and extreme weather.
Thomas Gibbons-Neff reported from Leesburg and Orlando, Fla., and participated in the minuteman training described in the article. The New York Times paid to take the class.
April 9, 2025Updated 8:44 a.m. ET
Ten men, some wearing camouflage, others in vests loaded with ammunition for their AR-15 rifles, gathered under the morning shade of oak trees in Central Florida last month. They were there to learn marksmanship tactics common among Special Operation forces and elite law enforcement units.
Their instructor, Christopher Eric Roscher, an Air Force veteran, introduced himself and then led the group in prayer.
“Lord, you would use them as assets, to be protectors in this world, in a world that’s full of evil,” he prayed.
The men gathered around him were not soldiers, police officers or right-wing militia members. They were mostly civilians, including two pilots, a nurse and a construction company executive. The class’s title — Full Contender Minuteman — even referred to the civilians turned soldiers of the American Revolution.
In a world shaped by war, a pandemic and extreme weather, more Americans are getting ready for crisis — whether it’s to fight a tyrannical government, repel an invading army or respond to a natural disaster.
They are known as prepared or professional citizens, part of a growing number of gun owners who are adapting their mind-set to uncertain and polarized times. And rather than being part of more fringe “prepper” culture, they are growing more mainstream, catered to by companies ready to offer them the tools and training to be ready.
