SACRAMENTO, Calif. — People are feeling the stress of the presidential election. Researchers say capital cities like Sacramento are natural hot spots for potential violence, but experts say you don't need to be scared, just alert.
Counting down to election day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, fears of political violence are playing out in a lot of peoples’ minds. Grocery giant Walmart, while still selling guns to customers, is pulling both guns and ammunition from displays in its stores citing concerns of civil unrest.
"I think you have a greater risk of bumping your head when you step off the curb going to the election location," Brian Levin, director for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State Bernardino, said.
Levin said Americans should not be fearful. Presidential elections historically lead to volatile environments, but he says in 2020, its risk is heightened by the coronavirus pandemic, the social justice movement, and extremism online.
“We haven't seen the violent chatter I had expected," Levin said.
Levin said he doesn't expect violence to be widespread, should a catalyst happen.
"We have seen that one person with an automatic rifle can really terrorize a community, and so I think people want to be really vigilant about this, but as for the kind of massive organized or civil war uprisings, I think that that's actually well unlikely," Mieke Eoyang, Senior Vice President for National Security Program at Third Way, a centrist-left leaning think tank, said.
However, it’s organized far-right militia groups that give experts the most concern.
"We have an idea of when risks are greater. What we have less of an ability to do is tell you who's going to do it and exactly where," Levin said.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project [ACLED], however, is trying to narrow it down. By analyzing militia activity, it flagged states like Pennsylvania and Oregon as fertile ground for political violence and says California is at moderate-risk. Researchers say areas where right-wing militia groups cultivate personal relationships with law enforcement, have increased risk of violence.
"Our assessment doesn't suggest that violence is inevitable. We're identifying these trends to help raise awareness so that local officials, civil society groups, and other stakeholders can prepare and support efforts to mitigate the risk of violence," Sam Jones, of the ACLED project, said.
The Sacramento Police Department tells ABC10 they'll have additional officers on election night to monitor disturbances if they happen. Experts say violence is more likely if presidential election results are close or contested.
"The more people who go out and vote and the more clear the results are, the less likely that kind of violence," Eoyang said.
Experts encourage people to vote early and hope for clear, decisive results that will be respected by political leaders.
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