Americans terrified there may be riots no matter who wins the election as expert issues warning

'No matter who wins, there will be riots,' claims one man as cops across the country prepare for civil unrest.

After months of campaigning and back and forths, in the coming days either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will become President-elect - and whichever way it swings, residents would be smart to brace for turmoil.

Voters will remember the last time Trump lost an election, just weeks before he was due to leave the White House thousands of his supporters flocked to Washington DC on January 6, 2021, to demonstrate - dubbed the Capitol Riots (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

"There will be riots regardless of the outcome," one person predicted on Twitter.

Another shared: "My prediction: 1. If Trump wins there will be riots by the Left. 2. If Trump loses there will be no riots from Right."

While a third typed: "Maybe it’s just me getting more aware and in the game. But this election seems the most charged that I’ve seen in my 27 years. No matter who wins, there will be riots lmao."

The ugly sentiment is shared with people up and down the US, but there is a reason many believe the country is on the cusp of anarchy.

There have been three alleged assassination attempts on Trump since he began campaigning as part of the 2024 US Presidential Election, one of which saw the former president come within seconds of death - with a bullet actually killing a rally attendee Corey Comperatore.

Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt earlier this year - escaping death by a matter of milliseconds (REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)

Then in the last few weeks, two ballot boxes have been set on fire in Washington and Oregon - both states being Democratic strongholds - while in Arizona a 60-year-old was arrested in connection to shots being fired at a Democratic National Committee office.

While within the last few days there have been even more drama, a man was arrested for making threats at Harris campaigners who were canvassing in Michigan - he allegedly attempted to run them over in his car.

A few days earlier an 18-year-old from Florida was arrested for allegedly wielding a machete outside an early-vote polling station while waving pro-Trump flags.

Now, Sheriff Tom Dart, of Cook County, Illinois, has stressed to the Economist that he is 'not a panic peddler' but is preparing for the worst.

Voters have flocked to the polling stations across the US today to primarily either pledge for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

He told the publication: “I am just sitting on data that is indisputable…saying that we’ve never had more people saying political violence is OK.”

It comes as he was briefed by Robert Pape, a University of Chicago academic studying political violence.

Pape is an expert in the field and has issued warnings to 199 other police officers to prepare themselves.

It comes as a poll created by Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago, previously the National Opinion Research Center, revealed that their data found a fifth of all Americans support the use of violence to either restore Donald Trump to presidency or prevent him from taking charge.

Speaking to the Economist, Pape urged: “We are going forward into a season of political violence.”