Washington DC on lockdown as metropolis braces for riots after US election end result

Shops and buildings across Washington DC have been boarded up as the city prepares for unrest amid the US presidential election.

The 2024 presidential election will take place on Tuesday 5 November – with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris to be elected the next US President. But fears are growing that American could descend into violence in a repeat of the infamous January 6 riot incited by Mr Trump.

National polls show the pair are neck in neck and within as little as 2.5 points of each other in every crucial swing state and Mr Trump has told his voters to prepare for a “rigged election”. The closeness of the polls is a sign of a deeply divided nation – with access to abortion, immigration and how best to manage the economy splitting America down the middle.

In preparation for results day, the US capital Washington DC has seen shops, restaurants and other buildings boarded up. Photos show workers erecting anti-scale fencing and other security measures around DC’s Howard University, where vice President Ms Harris studied and where she will spend election night.

Security appears to have been significantly increased since the last US election in 2020, where the result sparked widespread riots. Former president Mr Trump had tried to overturn the election as he falsely claimed it was stolen from him. He encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” and it led to thousands of his fans gathering in DC and stormed the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

During the 2024 election campaign, Mr Trump has been reverting to his old playbook, telling his supporters that the the only thing that can stop his Republican party from defeating the Democrats is “the cheating”. He has repeated claims about his “stolen election” and claimed cheating is already underway during some of his final rallies.

On Sunday, Mr Trump delivered a conspiracy-laden speech two days the election, where he talked about reporters being shot and suggesting he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and resurrected old grievances after trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

And Mr Trump suggested using violence against the media, telling the rally: “To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”

A spokesman for Mr Trump tried to roll back on the comments and said he was talking about protective glass, which Mr Trump has in place to protect him at outdoor events after an assassination attempt against him in July. The spokesman said: “The President’s statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the Media being harmed, or anything else”. He claimed Mr Trump was suggesting that reporters were in “great danger themselves, and should have had a glass protective shield, also. There can be no other interpretation of what was said. He was actually looking out for their welfare, far more than his own!”

There have been some suggestions Mr Trump will declare victory before all the votes are counted, as he did in 2020. He appears to be trying to tell his supporters that there can be no other outcome of the election other than a Trump win. It lays the ground for his fans to reject the vote if Ms Harris wins. It could take weeks before an official result is announced as the polls are so close, but there are concerns about how Mr Trump’s fans will react during the wait.

Meanwhile Ms Harris branded Mr Trump a “wannabe dictator” at a huge rally in Washington DC last week, when around 100,000 people reportedly turned out to support the Vice President. She described him as “unstable”, “obsessed with revenge” and determined to instigate mass deportations and withdraw women’s rights if he wins the election.