Travis,
Love your books, and you paint a scary picture in the article above. I have moved away from the big cities for this reason.
Query: In the event of flash mobs and riots, why wouldn’t the government simply shut down cell phone service? Easy-peasy.....no more flash mobs.
They’ll try, but cell phones, like computers, always seek out “work arounds.” For example, during riots and natural disasters, to cut down on circuit overloading, the local phone prefixes can be blocked. But if you have a phone with outside prefixes or another area code, they will still work. IOW, cell phones will still be in play. (This is a good reason to carry a cell phone with an out of state area code. It will still work during a disaster or other crisis.)
This administration is more likely to shut down OUR communications to prevent a timely response to the depredations of their brethren.
They'll try that to varying degrees, but it will be counter effective, as they depend upon cell service quite a lot as well. Look at hurricane zones. Sometimes, the only effective comms are ham operators. Ham gear is something else to have on hand along with steel and brass.