Soon, voters throughout the city will see a different kind of political ad campaign out of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s camp: a satirical advertisement for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman’s so-called “armed MAGA militia.”
Blakeman, a Trump-backed Nassau County executive, and County Sheriff Anthony LaRocco began recruiting civilians with pistol licenses to the volunteer Provisional Emergency Special Deputy Program, as it is officially known, back in 2024. A recruitment notice posted in the classified section of a local newspaper said volunteers of the program would be tasked with protecting life and property in Nassau County in the event of an emergency.
