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Armed protesters storm US vote-counting centers with guns

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The United States presidential election is getting interesting by the day as armed protesters have been gathering outside vote-counting centers, carrying guns and other dangerous weapons.

Al Jazeera reports that the angry protesters were seen carrying shotguns, handguns, military-style rifles and semi-automatic rifles.

The protesters, according to the report, are a small minority of demonstrators around the U.S. and, though no one has been injured so far, there are fears that the demonstrations could turn violent.

The laws of the states of Arizona and Michigan where the gun-carrying protesters were seen, allow people to openly carry firearms in public.

Read also: TRUMP TO BIDEN: Don’t wrongly claim office of president

However, election experts have warned that the presence of the firearms could create a panic situation as people could be intimidated and easily resort to violence.

A professor at the American University, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, told Al Jazeera:

“The more we see, the more people see it as a normal reaction even though it’s not. There’s nothing normal about it. The potential for violence becomes normalized.”

The armed protesters are believed to have shown up at the vote-counting centres following President Donald Trump’s accusations that his opponent, Joe Biden and the Democrats are trying to manipulate the election and steal his votes.

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