In Washington DC, barricades and fences are being set up. Store windows are being covered with wooden planks and the White House, Capitol, and Vice President Kamala Harris' residence are being protected by metal fences, reports BBC.
This year's election campaign has been marked by violence, with murder attempts, shootings at campaign offices, burned-out ballot boxes, and hateful rhetoric. Republican claims of electoral fraud and questioning of the electoral process's integrity have increased tensions.
As recently as last week, Trump claimed that the only thing that can stop his "enormous victory" is electoral fraud.
Part of the increased risk we're seeing is linked to former President Donald Trump's rhetoric, says Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, to Los Angeles Times.
Right-wing extremists call for violence
As a result, polling stations and vote-counting offices have strengthened security with bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, alarm systems, and even snipers, writes the newspaper. Others have installed bulletproof glass and video surveillance, according to Axios. In the swing state of Arizona, Reuters reports on drones and hidden shooters to protect voters and election workers.
Before the election, right-wing groups supporting Trump have called on supporters to be ready to question the election results. Anything other than a Trump victory means a miscarriage of justice that justifies an uprising, claim right-wing groups on Telegram in an investigation by The New York Times.
Through an analysis of over one million Telegram messages, the newspaper has found a scattered but connected movement with the goal of questioning the election's credibility, disrupting the electoral process – and potentially questioning the result.
No time to "play militia"
Among the agitators is the group Proud Boys, according to The New York Times. The movement had a leading role in the storming of the US Congress in January 2021, following Trump's refusal to concede defeat in the November 2020 election.
Larry Krasner, district attorney in Philadelphia in the swing state of Pennsylvania, warns potential rioters ahead of Tuesday's election.
Anyone who thinks it's time to play militia – blame yourself. Anyone who thinks it's time to insult, mock, assault, and threaten people – blame yourself, he said during a press conference on Monday.
In a survey by NPR, 72 percent of American voters say they are concerned about violence in the wake of the election.
