The 2024 national election and its aftermath are drawing more and more anger, anxiety and fear. What fear? Fear that after Nov. 5 the United States will face unprecedented violence, civil unrest and possibly a second civil war.
Thirty years ago, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan wrote: “The United States of America is moving closer and closer to great civil strife, unrest and bloodshed.
Although the American people are supposed to be citizens of one nation, the division between labor and management is growing more intense. The division between the haves and have-nots is getting wider and wider and that breach is being filled with hatred.
“The division between politics, right and left, so-called Christians, right and left, liberals, conservatives and all of the many causes that people are giving themselves to, whether social, religious or political, are now beginning to show signs of bloodshed.
“People do not seem to be willing to argue their point and let truth prevail, but the frustration of arguments is leading to resolution of conflict by means of the gun. So, the weapons of war are being sold legally and illegally throughout the United States in unprecedented numbers.
“The proliferation of weapons of the assault kind are mounting in the Black and White communities.
“Civil unrest in the future will not be able to be handled by the police. The police will be supported by the National Guard and the National Guard will be supported by federal troops.
When this day arrives, and it will, the breakdown of law and order will be so great in America that it will be as the prophets foretold, ‘a time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation even to that same time.’ Blood, as John the Revelator saw, ‘will be running in the streets even up to the horse’s bridle.’
This is a terrible prophecy, and it does not appear that it will be avoided or averted,” he wrote in an article, “Is America headed for civil war?” originally published August 31, 1994, in The Final Call.
Today millions of Americans, politicians, researchers, analysts, and journalists are sure civil unrest and possibly civil war are on the way. Fear of American anarchy keeps growing.
“American voters are approaching the presidential election with deep unease about what could follow, including the potential for political violence, attempts to overturn the election results and its broader implications for democracy, according to a new poll,” the Associated Press reported Oct. 28.
“The findings of the survey, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, speak to persistent concerns about the fragility of the world’s oldest democracy, nearly four years after former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results inspired a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
“About 4 in 10 registered voters say they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ concerned about violent attempts to overturn the results after the November election. A similar share is worried about legal efforts to do so. And about 1 in 3 voters say they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ concerned about attempts by local or state election officials to stop the results from being finalized.”
“Trump has continued to lie about fraud costing him reelection four years ago and is again forecasting that he can lose this time only if the election is rigged against him, a strategy he has deployed since his first run for office.
His allies and the Republican National Committee, which he reshaped, have filed lawsuits around the country that are a potential prelude to post-election legal challenges should he lose,” the Associated Press added.
“Trump’s wide-ranging attempts to reject the will of the voters and remain in power after his 2020 loss have led to concerns that he will again fail to concede should he lose to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Nearly 9 in 10 voters said the loser of the presidential election is obligated to concede once every state has finished counting its votes and legal challenges are resolved, including about 8 in 10 Republicans. But only about one-third of voters expect Trump to accept the results and concede if he loses,” the newswire reported.
“The same concern does not apply to Harris. Nearly 8 in 10 voters said Harris will accept the results and concede if she loses the election, including a solid majority of Republican voters.”
“Not surprisingly, Americans were deeply divided along ideological lines. About 8 in 10 Republicans said another term for Trump would strengthen democracy ‘a lot’ or ‘somewhat,’ while a similar share of Democrats said the same of a Harris presidency,” said the Associated Press.
“Part of what divides voters on their views of American democracy is the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and who is to blame. Democrats and independents are much more likely than Republican voters to place ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a bit’ of responsibility on Trump.”
Another poll across swing states critical to the election revealed a majority of swing state voters fear violence if Trump loses. They don’t expect Mr. Trump to graciously admit defeat.
The Washington Post reported Oct. 30 that a “majority of swing-state voters are concerned that supporters of former president Donald Trump will respond with violence if he doesn’t win the presidential election … .
Significantly fewer voters across those key states feel the same is true about Vice President Kamala Harris and her backers, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.”
The poll found “57 percent majority are very or somewhat worried that Trump’s supporters would turn violent if he loses, compared with 31 percent who think Harris voters would resort to violence.”
“Almost two-thirds of Americans are anticipating post-election violence, a Scripps News/Ipsos poll out (Oct. 28) found, and most support using the military to quell unrest after polls open on November 5.
More than a quarter believe that civil war could break out, according to a new YouGov poll, with 12 percent saying they know someone who might take up arms if they thought Mr. Trump had been cheated,” reported AFP, a newswire known for its coverage of international affairs.
We have already seen violent acts with two assassination attempts on Mr. Trump, voting drop boxes torched, election workers and local politicians attacked and threatened.
We saw thousands of Trump devotees attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, determined to overthrow the results of a national election three months earlier.
They assaulted police officers, tried to destroy the home of Congress, and chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” who was Mr. Trump’s vice president. They had also erected gallows within walking distance of Congress. Mr. Pence had refused to try to overturn the 2020 election loss Mr. Trump suffered at the hands of Joe Biden by not certifying the results. His certification was ceremonial and he had no power to reject the election results.
People died as a result of the assault on the Capitol.
A viral video a week before election day captured a White man attacking and cursing Black women serving as election workers in South Carolina. The Caucasian male became irate after being told he was not allowed to wear politically oriented slogans or messages inside precincts. It’s a longstanding rule.
Trumpsters have also taken to social media saying they are locked, loaded and ready to act if their leader is cheated out of the election.
A divine warning was issued three decades ago, but the guidance was rejected. So we watch the “Unraveling of a Great Nation” and it appears nothing can stop it.
—Naba’a Muhammad, Editor-in-Chief, The Final Call
