Americans brace for civil unrest amid terrifying predictions of “bloodshed” during Tuesday’s presidential election, reliving painful memories of recent assassination attempts and chaos after the 2020 election.
Businesses in Washington DC were boarding up their windows on Monday as security fencing went up around the White House, US Vice President Harris’ residence and other key buildings in the capital.
Fights have broken out at polling stations and poll workers have braced for gun attacks, amid an avalanche of threats to blow up political offices and other sensitive sites before Election Day.
Washington state has activated some members of the National Guard to be on alert, while a Democratic congressman has warned that “there may be blood” as a result of clashes between angry voters.
Police and guards are waiting for electoral chaos in Portland, Oregon, with its history of Antifa violence, and where Mayor Ted Wheeler warns of “uncertainty and tension” during the polls.
A Trump supporter, left, confronts a Harris fan outside a Tim Walz event in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, last week.
Workers erect anti-climb fencing and other security measures around Howard University in DC, where Democratic vice president candidate Kamala Harris will spend election night.
The 2024 race has already seen bloodshed, with the July 13 shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the former president and leaving one attendee dead and two more injured.
The race has also been marred by condemnatory rhetoric between rival campaigns. A speaker at a Trump rally recently spoke of the “massacre” of Democrats, and Trump himself has spoken of “shooting” former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Meanwhile, Harris has called Trump a “threat” to democracy who must be defeated at the polls, while her boss, outgoing President Joe Biden, has called the MAGA Republican’s supporters “trash.”
Meanwhile, the specter of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn the former president’s election loss to Biden, has cast a long shadow over American politics.
This time, Trump has repeatedly refused to declare whether he will accept the election results and is already alleging fraud and cheating in swing states like Pennsylvania, setting the stage for what many fear will be more unrest.
Trump supporter Bill Robinson, 65, of North Carolina, says some violence now appears likely.
“It’s a horrendous possibility, because it seems like there’s no other option than some kind of extreme discomfort,” Robinson told USA Today.
Tensions rose Monday as Trump and his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, made their latest attempt to woo voters, hours before polling stations opened Tuesday in a tight race revolving around a handful of voting fields. electoral battle.
Election prediction website 538 slightly favors Trump to win the White House, with a 52 percent chance to Harris’ 48 percent, but for many commentators the race is more or less a tie.
Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, a Democrat, warned Thursday that “there may be bloodshed” if Harris defeats Trump at the polls, saying the Republican’s supporters may not accept a defeat.
“I think Kamala will win the popular vote by 5 or 6 million votes at least,” he told NewsNation.
“I think he’ll get the electoral vote, but I think Trump will stop at nothing.” It will be in court; will be in litigation. He will again tell people to go to the Capitol if they want to have a country and fight like hell.
Cohen added: “There may be blood and there is some concern.”
Workers are seen boarding up storefronts and buildings at ground level along Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House.
Authorities began working to put out a fire at an urn in Vancouver, WA, early Monday morning. It was one of two fires set at two ballot boxes in two different states early Monday morning.
Former President Donald Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in July.
Those striking sentiments have played out in Washington, D.C., in recent days, where fences now surround the White House, the U.S. Capitol building and the vice president’s residence.
Workers have been hammering fresh-smelling plywood at several businesses along Pennsylvania Avenue and the Treasury Department complex. Some are reinforcing street-level windows and entrances in case there is looting or rioting.
City officials have warned of a “fluid and unpredictable security environment” in the days and possibly weeks after polls close, as many do not expect a clear winner to be declared on Election Day.
“There is concern in the city,” Eric J. Jones, a local official, told the Washington Post.
But he added that this was mostly a precaution in case of social unrest, saying: “We don’t expect total chaos like we saw after January 6.”
A survey of 1,003 likely voters, conducted with JL Partners, shows that a surprising number of Americans believe the election could quickly turn violent and even snowball into a full-scale conflict.
More than 25 percent say they believe there will be riots if Harris or Trump wins, and 10 percent fear there will be a civil war.
Just over one in five (22 percent) said a Democratic victory would lead to a repeat of Jan. 6, and 21 percent said Democratic election sites or officials would be targeted directly.
Harris voters are more likely to believe riots will occur, while Republicans are divided over whether the election will be conducted fairly.
However, if Donald Trump wins the Electoral College by a narrow margin, Americans believe there is a greater chance of “violence in the streets” in the form of angry protests.
Pennsylvania, arguably the most important state in the race, has already been at the center of fraud allegations that have reached the Supreme Court.
Passersby stand in front of a fence on the White House grounds.
Workers erect anti-climb fencing around the White House and the Treasury Department on Sunday.
US Secret Service agents will be part of the security force in the US capital from Election Day and beyond
Supporters of Donald Trump clash with police inside the US Capitol during a protest aimed at stopping the transfer of power to Joe Biden, on January 6, 2021.
In the Keystone State, Edward Dieri Jr. was charged with threatening to blow up a Republican office in Montgomery County.
Jeffrey Michael Kelly was arrested in Arizona on October 23 for allegedly shooting three times at a Democratic campaign office.
He was also accused of posting signs outside his house with razor blades and a bag with a white powder attached to it.
A man allegedly attacked a poll worker who asked him twice to remove his MAGA hat in San Antonio, Texas, where political clothing is prohibited in polling places.
In Oregon and Washington, the FBI and police are still searching for an arsonist who set fire to three ballot boxes.
Washington state’s governor said Friday that he was activating some members of the National Guard to be on alert after reports and fears about election violence.
Polls were set on fire earlier in the week in the state, where Harris is easily expected to defeat Trump there, polls show.
Hundreds of ballots were damaged or destroyed by the use of the incendiary device at the City of Vancouver mailbox, Gov. Jay Inslee said.
“Based on general and specific information and concerns about the potential for violence or other illegal activity related to the 2024 general election, I want to ensure that we are fully prepared to respond,” Inslee said Friday.
