BRACED FOR FURY..

National Guard on high alert | Action to counter Maga mob

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

THE National Guard has thousands of armed troops on standby, ready for deployment on to the streets of Washington DC in case post-election violence descends on the US capital again.

Officials in more than two dozen states have offered to send soldiers to prevent a repeat of the deadly riot carried out by Donald Trump's Maga mob four years ago.

Memories of the January 6 Capitol riot are at the forefront of security officials' minds, and they are taking unprecedented steps to prevent a repeat of the chaos that shocked the world.

Trump has done nothing to calm their fears -"Fight! Fight! Fight!" has become the new mantra of his supporters since he rose to his feet and yelled the words in defiance after being shot in the ear in an attempted assassination in July while on the campaign trail.

Washington is braced for the worst, with businesses yesterday boarding up their premises and sturdy fences being erected around several buildings.

The whole of the US is clouded by fear and tension over the battle between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Trump.

Amid fears of unrest, the FBI has been monitoring online forums used by far-right and far-left agitators and, along with local and federal agencies, has been preparing for the possibility that the political fault lines exposed by the election could erupt, when the results come in.

Washington DC, where the next President will be inaugurated on January 20, has not yet made a formal request for National Guard troops.

But for weeks, National Guard leaders have held emergency planning meetings with state governors, highlighting their readiness to deploy troops with just hours of notice if needed.