Two lawmakers plan to establish 'Christian Survivalist Centers' in South Carolina

Two lawmakers from South Carolina are reportedly planning to establish survivalist communities in the state to prepare for impending disaster or societal collapse.

State Reps. Josiah Magnuson (R-Campobello) and Jonathon Hill (R-Townville) are currently setting up what they call the "Virtue Solution Project," an organization that seeks to either save America or survive a societal collapse.

Magnuson and Hill, both from tiny towns in the Upstate Bible Belt, are hoping to train neighborhood leaders who will be able to establish "a fresh beginning for America" in the aftermath of a great crisis that they believe is coming.

Hill and Magnuson both grew up homeschooled, and both of their fathers were pastors. The lawmakers cite their interpretation of ideals of the nation's Founding Fathers as the basis for their project.

"We believe the Founders designed the Bill of Rights in such a way that its exercise in anticipation of a crisis would result in the construction of strong self-sufficient communities where people cared for one another," the project's website states.

"Within these communities, virtue would be again multiplied as people regained understanding and skill in areas of personal responsibility," it continued.

They are encouraging their followers and other offshoot groups to form their own communities so that they will no longer have to rely on corporate America or the "tyrannical" federal government.

The two lawmakers are also urging their neighbors to support "principled men" who are willing to nullify laws and court rulings such as abortion, gay mar marriage, gun restrictions and federal standards for driver's licenses.

They advise other members who are not in political office to find their way onto juries to acquit people charged with crimes they believe are "unjust."

In the event of a societal collapse, there will be "community preparedness centers," which will provide its members with "reading material, tools, food storage, ammo, and more."

The legislators have considered several scenarios including an economic collapse, natural disaster, attack from a foreign nation or the failure of the nation's infrastructure caused by an electromagnetic pulse.

"There's probably going to be a lot of little crises, but there will eventually come a point where there is a major disaster of some sort in our country, in all likelihood," said Magnuson in one of his lectures, according to The Post and Courier.

Magnuson, a 25-year-old lawmaker who was first elected last year, is already in the process of developing one of the "lighthouses" or "islands of refuge" near Campabello on a roughly 1-acre tract of land just off U.S. Highway 176. He said that other people are also planning to establish groups near Pickens, Simpsonville, Charleston and across the border in Georgia.

In one of the early gatherings of the group, Magnuson clarified that he is not advocating for an armed insurrection. "We're not saying that everybody should go and pick up guns and go have a revolution," he said.

Hill noted that the plans are only in the infant stages and maintained that the point of the group's materials is not to scare people but to teach people about self-sufficiency and providing for their neighbors.