The Department of Justice and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are preparing for possible civil unrest on November 3, when the country will hold a general election. This was reported by The Washington Post.
According to the publication, the Department of Justice and the FBI plan to place officials in the command center at the headquarters of the bureau to coordinate actions in case of any unrest or other problems related to the vote. We are talking, among other things, about officials working in the field of civil rights, as well as national security. They will monitor major electoral incidents, reports of fraud or voter intimidation, and assess potential cyber threats to the electoral infrastructure.
“Concerns have been expressed about the possibility of public unrest, and these fears have been expressed by both sides, for different reasons. In this regard, we are paying special attention to this option [of events],” a law enforcement source told The Washington Post.
At the same time, he noted that the Justice Department and the FBI are always preparing for elections, including for “potential [cases of] violence.” However, according to the source of the publication, this issue is being discussed especially actively this year due to the uniqueness of the nature of the upcoming elections, which will be held in the context of a pandemic, fears of possible fraud, as well as riots and protests against racial inequality and disproportionate use of force by the police. Which began in the US at the end of May.
In turn, the FBI told the newspaper that the bureau, as in previous years, is “committed to protecting the rights of Americans to fair elections.” “Of course, our preparation for the [elections] of 2020 takes into account the current climate in the country<…> As always, the FBI is obliged to take into account many potential scenarios,” the agency said in a statement.
The next US general elections will be held on November 3. They will elect the president and vice president, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the US Senate, governors of 13 states and territories.
