America braces for election violence with shops boarded up and National Guard on standby

Cities across the United States were battening down the hatches as they prepared for potential riots in the wake of the election on Tuesday.

With the country more bitterly divided than at any time since the Vietnam War in the 1970s it was feared a disputed result could set off nationwide clashes.

In Washington businesses near the White House, including hotels, banks and restaurants, boarded up their windows, as did those in iconic New York locations including Times Square and Fifth Avenue.

Alex Provenzano, who owns a nail salon two blocks from the White House, said it was "pretty scary," adding: "I hope for the best, but the people are very stressed out."

Officials were removing bins and bicycle stands so they couldn't be used as projectiles.

The secret service is to erect a “non-scalable” fence around the entire White House perimeter.

A National Park Service spokesman said the fence was required due to the “unique security requirements with the upcoming presidential election” and the “need to quickly de-escalate potentially violent encounters”.

Students at George Washington University in the capital were told to hunker down.

An email sent to students by the university said: "We suggest preparing for the Election Day period as you would for a hurricane or a snowstorm that would prevent you from going outside for several days to grab food or order takeout."

Black Lives Matter was planning an eight-hour election event outside the White House with a big screen showing results.

In Washington 250 National Guard troops were reportedly on standby.

However, the mayor, Muriel Bowser, said she had yet not decided whether to use the National Guard in the event of election violence.

In New York caravans of hundreds of vehicles, driven by supporters of Mr Trump waving flags, blocked two busy highways.

Some 300 cars drove to the Mario M Cuomo bridge where drivers in "Trump 2020" T-shirts chanted “USA, USA, USA,” before police arrived and escorted them away.

"We shut it down, baby. We shut it down," a man filming the video could be heard yelling.

Pro-Trump demonstrators also poured on to New Jersey's Garden State Parkway in cars, causing traffic buildup for "miles and miles," according to witnesses.

Roads leading to Trump Tower in New York were cordoned off after protests over the weekend, and stores including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue were being boarded up.

The Guardian Angels, an unarmed crime prevention group, said it would patrol New York's streets.

Curtis Sliwa, the group's president, said: "There is pure hate, the people who support Trump, they hate the people who support Biden, and vice versa.

"More importantly, we know that there are thugs who have no political identity who may take advantage of the situation and riot and loot."

In Beverly Hills, California, the city intended to lock down the iconic luxury shopping street Rodeo Drive, erecting concrete barricades, and calling in a SWAT team and 80 private security guards.

A Beverly Hills police spokesman said: "We’re the most prepared city in all the state of California, possibly the nation."

Democrats in Georgia said they had cancelled plans to protest outside one of Mr Trump's rallies because they feared a "large militia presence".

The US justice department said it was dispatching monitors to 44 areas in 18 states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts and Michigan.

In Texas the FBI launched an investigation after supporters of Mr Trump in vehicles surrounded a Biden campaign bus on a freeway outside Austin. A Democrat support vehicle was sideswiped.

The bus was carrying a congressional candidate, not Mr Biden or his running mate Kamala Harris.

Mr Trump praised the action saying: "In my opinion these patriots did nothing wrong. Instead, the FBI should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA."

Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, urged supporters to "keep it up".

Mr Biden said: "We've never had anything like this - at least we've never had a president who thinks it's a good thing."

In Richmond, Viriginia, a self-described "Trump Train" of vehicles, carrying supporters of the president, was engaged in a standoff with anti-Trump protesters near a statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

A Richmond police spokesman said: "Some of the vehicles left the roadway and crossed grassy medians near the area."

Mike Dickinson, a Richmond city council candidate, who organised the "Trump Train," said: "We have a culture of lawlessness and mob attack mentality. It’s ridiculous that in the city of Richmond, you can’t drive down our roads without having people throw bottles at you and attack your vehicle and be violent towards you."

Anti-Trump protesters claimed they were shot at.

A USA Today poll showed three quarters of US voters feared violence after the election.

In Chicago all police leave was cancelled. Police Superintendent David Brown said there would be "zero tolerance," adding: "Don't loot in Chicago."

Across Texas, which has seen record early voting, 1,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to five cities.

Hundreds of National Guard troops are in Philadelphia, in the key state of Pennsylvania.

They have remained in the city following unrest after the recent police shooting of a black man Walter Wallace Jr. More than 20 people have been arrested, 59 police officers injured, and 25 cash machines vandalised in the last week.

In North Carolina police used pepper spray to break up a march to a polling station. Police said eight people were arrested.

Rev. Greg Drumwright, the organiser, said children including a five -year-old girl were hit.

He said: "Potential voters left here sunken, sad, traumatised, obstructed and distracted from our intention to lead people all the way to the polls. We were beaten, but we will not be broken."