In Shasta County, in northern California, to meet one of the local elected officials, all you have to do is open the door of a gun store in Redding, the main city of this rural administrative region. And this, whether you are a citizen, a local official, a lobbyist or even a journalist.
This is where Patrick Jones, representative of the county’s fourth district on the Board of Supervisors, receives, in the middle of display cases displaying his Colt King Cobras, his three-round burst rifles, his semi-automatic Benelli Vinci, his Smith & Wesson 686 and its boxes of lead-free ammunition, complying with the new regulations in force since July 2019 in the State.
“We have entered a very good period for politics,” says the politician in his early fifties, a hunter in his spare time and above all the owner-manager of this vast firearms business. There is now, inside Shasta’s government, a movement whose mission is to change the way politics is done here. » Then he proudly adds: “I am part of this movement and, to be more precise, I lead this movement. »
Between rivers, lakes, forests and sun, Shasta County, located a 2.5 hour drive north of Sacramento, has always stood out from the rest of very progressive California by its over-the-top conservatism, its calls for freedom and its vote favoring Republicans more than Democrats. In 2020, 65.4% of voters there voted for Donald Trump, unlike the rest of the state which, at 63.5%, preferred Joe Biden.
But, since 2021, the county has also become the scene of a new political experiment fueled by the arrival in several elected positions in the local government of supporters of Donald Trump, of which Patrick Jones is one. A new breed of politicians, enraged by health measures during the pandemic, mobilized by speeches denying the defeat of the populist in 2020 and guided by the founding principles of the former president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
These elected officials are also fueled by resentment, rumors, conspiracy theories and the cultural war against the country’s liberal elites, and, in just a few months, they have trashed the local political scene, deplore several residents and moderate Republicans. County.
“They want to restore America to its former greatness, but, in the end, their project is mainly taking the county into a past that never existed, into an ideal of the West that holds the fabrication, summarizes Doni Chamberlain, local journalist who, for months, has meticulously documented the radicalization of politics in the region on his blog, A News Cafe. We are dealing with “shastalibans”, a conglomerate of activists radicalized on the question of the free circulation of weapons, white nationalism, civil disobedience, who want to secede from the rest of the State and who attack the social diversity, immigration and democratic institutions. For a long time, we saw and heard them on the margins. But now, having come to power, they have a real capacity to do significant damage, even at the risk of setting the house on fire. »
With its 180,000 inhabitants, a little less than the population of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Shasta County easily disappears among the 39 million Californians who occupy the rest of the state. But it is increasingly seen as the place which, on a small scale, seeks to implement a real Trumpist regime with authoritarian overtones, thus prefiguring at this level of government what a second mandate of the President could well look like. populist in the White House.
“That’s their goal. They want to go in that direction,” summarizes Jeff Gorder, former county criminal attorney and member of the Civil Shasta group, who closely follows decisions made by a Board of Supervisors, the highest government body, in an interview in a small Redding café. highest in the county, now controlled by a majority of radical Trumpists. “They are devoting a lot of energy to infiltrating all decision-making bodies and county commissions, and they are doing it with a rhetorical violence that tends to repel more moderate candidates and even citizens, who are now afraid to display opposition during the meetings of these commissions, to avoid harassment and online smear campaigns afterwards. »
A weakened administration
This vacuum policy also affects public administration employees, whose retirements, resignations and sick leave have increased since the arrival of these new politicians at the head of local government. “There is an incredible turnover of staff,” adds Mr. Gorder. We have lost many competent employees, which means that public services, in several areas, such as health and social services, are becoming less effective. »
These departures are, however, seen as victories for the ultra-conservatives, who now have both hands on the steering wheel of the county. “We have had 12 resignations within the senior civil service in the last year,” boasts Patrick Jones, sitting in the middle of his arms trade. And that’s very good, because these people couldn’t live with the decisions of the Council [des superviseurs]. No matter what we decide, county staff must implement it, not slow down our decisions. If they don’t want to do it, then we must replace them with people who respond to the will of the Council. »
He adds: “We grew up here. We don’t need to ask people what to do. We do this because we have a good idea of where we come from, what we want, and where to go. We want smaller, more efficient government. And we especially don’t want a community of welfare recipients. »
The refrain is known. But in Shasta County, he is above all supporting the emergence of a “dystopian society” with its new leaders who, while denouncing the lack of efficiency and transparency of past governments, end up putting in place an opaque, ineffective and increasingly dysfunctional administration, estimates Annelise Pierce, a former community worker from Redding, who has become a keen observer of this change within the local media, Shasta Scout.
We have lost many competent employees, which means that public services, in several areas, such as health and social services, are becoming less effective.
“The county has entered into this logic of “draining the swamp” imported from Donald Trump’s program,” she said, sitting on the terrace of a café in this small Californian town. The populist launched the concept in 2016 to take on the deep state which, according to conspiracy theories, secretly runs the US government apparatus. “This is what does the most damage because each time someone leaves their position, it reduces the level of competence, understanding of files and accountability. Without good leaders, you lose contracts, you slow down programs, the morale of local employees decreases, waiting lists increase, deadlines are no longer respected… What I hear from the inside [du gouvernement local], is that the work climate is becoming more and more difficult, demeaning and less and less safe. »
Weapons and demands
Earlier this year, Patrick Jones brought to Council the idea of a resolution to allow not only county employees, but also citizens, to carry concealed weapons in government buildings and several other so-called spaces. “sensitive areas”, such as public transportation, parks, playgrounds, stadiums, casinos, medical facilities, churches, banks and places where alcohol is sold. The measure aims to thwart at the local level the application of a federal law – currently challenged in court – emanating from the California Senate and which aims to extend the list of places where the carrying of weapons is prohibited in the ‘State.
“Taking control of local politics is all we have left since it is impossible for us to obtain representation in Sacramento and even in Washington,” says Woody Clendenen, founder and leader of the Militia of Cottonwood, an armed paramilitary group. The duty met him in the tiny barbershop he runs in this small town south of Redding. “We are becoming an inspiration for the rest of the country and a source of concern for our opponents,” he said, delighted, while evoking “extreme polarization”, which can only lead the country towards “a national divorce,” he says. On the wall behind him, the photo of a shooter in camouflage clothing blends into a confusing decor, where hair products and patriotic symbols mix.
“Next November, we will maintain our positions within the county. And even strengthen them,” he warns. “A lot of people are moving to the area now because they like what they see on the local political scene. » An assertion which, however, struggles to be demonstrated by the figures: since 2021 and the arrival of the radicals in power in the county, nearly 2,300 people have left the area, according to the latest demographic update from the California Department of Finance carried out on 1er last January.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat-International Journalism Fund.The duty.