Published 20:33 IST, November 3rd 2020
US Election: Law enforcement agencies gear up amid reports of possible unrest post-voting
Law enforcement agencies in the United States have taken a front seat over reports of possible unrest after the final voting day on November 3.
- World News
- 2 min read
Law enforcement agencies in the United States have taken a front seat over reports of possible unrest after the final voting day on November 3. According to a report by The Hill, the US National Security Integration Centre (NSIC) in an internal email to its staff warned about possible unrest post-election day. The internal email reportedly highlighted a social media message that read, "If you want to throw down come to Washington DC on Nov 4th."
Security beefed-up
The report further said that agencies have beefed-up the security in Washington DC, especially near the White House, where non-scalable fences have been put up around the premises as a precautionary measure. Many reports have alleged that violence in the US post-election day is expected because of the possibility of a delayed result due to the high number of people voting through mail-in-ballots this election over COVID-19 concerns.
There have been several cases of confrontations between supporters of US President Donald Trump and his opponent Joe Biden. In New York and New Jersey, Republican protesters blocked traffic over the weekend, while in Texas, a group of Trump supporters allegedly harassed one of Joe Biden's campaign buses. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that he will not oversee a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also warned about possible civil unrest after the election day, saying he is "worried". Zuckerberg in a statement on October 30 said, “I'm worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or weeks to be finalized, there is a risk of civil unrest across the country. Given this, companies like ours need to go well beyond what we've done before.”
(Image Credit: AP)
Updated 20:33 IST, November 3rd 2020