US Elections 2020: Law enforcement gears up in US for possible unrest post election day
Nov 03, 2020
Washington [US], November 3 : Federal law agencies in the US are preparing for possible unrest over the outcome of the presidential elections.
According to The Hill, The National Security Integration Center (NSIC), a key national security and counterterrorism component within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned in an internal email late last week about protests inside the Beltway.
"From November 4 - 7, Civil Unrest is planned throughout Downtown Washington DC. LE Intelligence Agencies have monitored several messages on protesters' social media sites stating, 'If you want to throw down come to Washington DC on November 4th,'" reads one of the bullets in the email, as obtained by The Hill.
It further reported that the authorities are preparing for the worst, a non-scalable fence has been put around the White House ahead of Election day to create "a buffer" in case protests turn violent. In the DC area and across the country, cities are boarding up their windows as a protection.
The chances of violence are expected to rise, irresepctive of the result. In New Jersey and New York, pro-(Donald) Trump demonstrators held up traffic over the weekend, while another group of Trump supporters surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus in Texas.
Three people were shot in Topeka, Kansas, amid a confrontation over individuals allegedly stealing political signs supporting the US President and local Republicans, over the weekend.
As many US Citizens in the country voted by mail this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a possibility that the winner of the election may not be declared on November 3, which political observers are scared that tensions could rise as days pass.
"We are all looking forward to every vote being counted, no matter how long it takes," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference as quoted by the Hill, adding that they are "preparing to ensure the city's safety."
"There is no secret that this election is more contentious than in years' past," Terence Monahan, the chief of department at the New York Police, said at a press conference last month, according to reports, as per The Hill.
