US braced for victory delay and violence
Shops and hotels boarded up as National Guard are drafted in amid fears of riots across the country
JOE BIDEN’S campaign manager yesterday said there was “no scenario” in which Donald Trump could be declared victor on election night, as the United States braced itself for days of uncertainty over the result and potential violence on the streets.
Jen O’malley Dillon argued that the Biden campaign had banked enough early votes to make Mr Trump need huge victory margins at the polling booths today to take key swing states.
“Under no scenario will Donald Trump be declared a victor on election night,” Ms O’malley Dillon said. The message was an attempt to counter fears that the president could claim victory tonight should he be ahead, even if many postal ballots – believed to favour Mr Biden – are still to be counted.
Mr Trump denied he would do that, saying “no, no” when asked by a reporter late on Sunday, but then strongly criticised the idea the result would not be announced tonight.
“I think it’s terrible when we can’t know the results of an election the night of the election in a modern-day age of computers. I think it’s a terrible thing,” Mr Trump said. He also raised the possibility of sending lawyers into Pennsylvania, a swing state that could tip the balance in a close race, if counting of postal ballots lasts for many days.
“As soon as that election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers”, he said.
As the two presidential candidates campaigned hard in battleground states yesterday with the race almost over, America braced itself for unprecedented post-election violence.
In cities across the country, windows have been boarded up in downtown areas in anticipation of protests after polls close tonight in scenes unlike anything seen in modern US presidential elections. The secret service is to erect a “non-scalable” fence around the entire White House perimeter. A National Park Service spokesman said the fence was required due to the “unique security requirements with the upcoming presidential election” and the “need to quickly de-escalate potentially violent encounters”.
Trump Tower, Mr Trump’s business headquarters in New York, was surrounded by more physical barriers than usual.
CITIES across the United States were battening down the hatches as they prepared for potential riots in the wake of today’s election.
With the country more bitterly divided than at any time since the Vietnam War it was feared a disputed result could set off nationwide clashes.
In Washington, businesses near the White House boarded up their windows, as did those in iconic New York locations including Times Square and Fifth Avenue.
Alex Provenzano, who owns a nail salon two blocks from the White House, said it was “pretty scary”, adding: “I hope for the best, but the people are very stressed out.”
Officials were removing bins and bicycle stands so they could not be used as projectiles, while students at George Washington University in the capital were told to hunker down.
An email sent to students said: “We suggest preparing for the election day period as you would for a hurricane or a snowstorm that would prevent you from going outside for several days to grab food or order takeout.”
Black Lives Matter protesters planned an eight-hour election event outside the White House with a big screen showing results.
In Washington, 250 National Guard troops were reportedly on standby. However, Muriel Bowser, the mayor, said she had not yet decided whether to use the guard in the event of election violence.
In New York, caravans of hundreds of vehicles, driven by flag-waving supporters of Mr Trump, blocked two busy highways. Some 300 cars drove to the Mario M Cuomo bridge where drivers in “Trump 2020” T-shirts chanted “USA, USA, USA”, before police arrived and escorted them away.
Pro-trump demonstrators also poured on to New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway in cars, causing traffic build up for “miles and miles”, according to witnesses.
Roads leading to Trump Tower in New York were cordoned off after protests at the weekend, and stores including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue were boarded up.
The Guardian Angels, an unarmed crime prevention group, said it would patrol New York’s streets.
Curtis Sliwa, the group’s president, said: “There is pure hate, the people who support Trump, they hate the people who support Biden, and vice versa.
“More importantly, we know that there are thugs who have no political identity who may take advantage of the situation and riot and loot.”
In Beverly Hills, California, the city intended to lock down Rodeo Drive, the shopping street, by erecting concrete barricades, and calling in a Swat team and 80 private security guards.
A Beverly Hills police spokesman said: “We’re the most prepared city in all the state of California, possibly the nation.”
Democrats in Georgia said they had cancelled plans to protest outside one of
Mr Trump’s rallies because they feared a “large militia presence”.
The US justice department said it was dispatching monitors to 44 areas in 18 states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts and Michigan.
In Texas, the FBI launched an investigation after Trump supporters in vehicles surrounded a Biden campaign bus on a freeway outside Austin. A Democrat support vehicle was hit. The bus was carrying a congressional candidate, not Mr Biden or Kamala Harris.
Mr Trump praised the action saying:
“In my opinion these patriots did nothing wrong. Instead, the FBI should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists and agitators of Antifa.”
Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son, urged supporters to “keep it up”.
Mr Biden said: “We’ve never had anything like this – at least we’ve never had a president who thinks it’s a good thing.”
Also in Texas, Republicans launched a last-minute bid to have 125,000 votes, cast at drive-through sites in Houston, a Democrat-leaning area, thrown out.
I n Richmond, Virginia, a s elfdescribed “Trump train” of vehicles, was engaged in a standoff with antiTrump protesters near a statue of Robert E Lee, the Confederate general.
Mike Dickinson, a Richmond city council candidate, who organised the “Trump train”, said: “We have a culture of lawlessness and mob attack mentality. It’s ridiculous that in the city of Richmond, you can’t drive down our roads without having people throw bottles at you and attack your vehicle and be violent towards you.”
Anti-trump protesters claimed they were shot at.
Meanwhile, a USA Today poll showed three quarters of US voters feared violence after the election.
In Chicago, all police leave was cancelled. Supt David Brown said there would be “zero tolerance”, adding: “Don’t loot in Chicago.”
Across Texas, which has seen record early voting, 1,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to five cities.
Hundreds of National Guard troops are also in Philadelphia, in the key state of Pennsylvania. They have remained in the city following unrest after the recent police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr, a black man. More than 20 people have been arrested, 59 police officers injured and 25 cash machines vandalised in the last week.
In North Carolina, police used pepper spray to break up a march to a polling station. Eight people were arrested.
The Rev Greg Drumwright, the organiser, said children including a five-year- old girl were hit, adding: “Potential voters left here sunken, sad, traumatised, obstructed and distracted from our intention to lead people all the way to the polls. We were beaten, but we will not be broken.”
‘We suggest preparing for the election day period as you would for a hurricane or a snowstorm’