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A deeply polarized America faces an “unknown danger” in the days ahead.
A group of leading threat and risk analysts, who monitor conflict-ridden situations around the world, have written a 30-page report with a disturbing warning ahead of the US presidential election.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) is an organization that regularly monitors and analyzes unstable states and war zones. They warn that a deeply polarized America faces “unknown danger” in the coming days, writes CNN.
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“While Americans have grown accustomed to a certain level of reluctance in these four-year campaigns, they have never faced these realistic prospects that a sitting president will be able to reject the election result or that it will result in gun violence,” he wrote ICG in The US Presidential Election: Managing the Risks of Violence report.
Toxic rhetoric
The group of risk analysts has listed several possible factors that can trigger acts of violence on election day and the days ahead.
Some of the factors highlighted by the ICG are the dissemination of disinformation and hate speech on the Internet, issues related to racial justice in the United States, the emergence of armed groups, and the possibility of an even or controversial electoral result.
The ICG blames President Trump for the potential violence, writing that the “toxic rhetoric and willingness of the president to risk conflict to promote self-interest are unprecedented in modern American history.”
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– Doesn’t take enough distance
Although Trump has distanced himself from violence during the election campaign, he has also shown little willingness to completely distance himself from violent right-wing extremist groups.
Trump received massive criticism when he refrained from distancing himself from right-wing extremists in Charlottesville in 2017, when a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi ran over a peaceful group of protesters and killed a woman.
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The peaceful counter-demonstration targeted hundreds of far-right supporters protesting the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee. Trump said at the time that they were “good people on both sides.”
During the first presidential debate, in which Biden and Trump fought each other, Trump said the far-right group Proud Boys should “step back and be ready.” Later, more or less reluctantly, he has also distanced himself from this group.
Trump himself has blamed much of the protests and unrest in the United States on the left-wing, loosely-formed Antifa movement.
Read more about Proud Boys and Antifa here.
– Threats and deters voters
Furthermore, Trump has made very harsh statements about his political opponents. All of these things cast doubt on whether he uses the full weight of the presidency to curb and prevent violence, writes CNN.
The ICG also refers to Trump’s call for an “army” of supporters to monitor voting outside of polling stations, and believes it could be a trigger to contribute to election-related violence.
“Trump’s use of bellicose language indicates a desire for supporters, who are not trained to monitor the conduct of elections, to appear threatening to deter the democratic vote,” the report said.
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The Trump campaign has repeatedly urged its followers on Twitter, in speeches and in paid ad campaigns, to appear as “Trump’s army” and to monitor the conduct of elections in controversial districts, USA Today writes. There have already been incidents in Fairfax, Virginia, where pre-voters have felt threatened by Trump supporters present, the newspaper writes.
The ICG also cites Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine the legitimacy of voting by mail as a possible trigger for acts of violence, if the election outcome is delayed or disputed.
“Trump has already planted the unfounded notion that postal votes will cause massive electoral fraud and has tried to undermine the legitimacy of counting votes after Election Day,” the report said.
– I never experienced anything like this
The United States government is also concerned that Election Day could bring conflict and unrest.
In the capital, Washington DC, an enormously high security fence is planned around the White House. Extensive measures are also planned to secure areas around the White House, such as Presidential Park (Ellipse) and Lafayette Square.
Police in American cities have launched a massive mobilization to address violent incidents, riots, and protests on and around Election Day.
In Manhattan, several hundred additional police officers have been mobilized in connection with the elections. The metropolis’ business community has also implemented extensive measures ahead of the elections for fear of unrest.
In Los Angeles, there is a law enforcement source who tells CNN that he has never experienced the preparations before a presidential election.
– I’ve never experienced anything like this. We do everything possible to be prepared to protect the city, and to make sure that we are not harmed and that we are not part of the news, says the police source.
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