Americans worried about Election Day violence and chaos are buying guns and toilet paper

After a summer of racial clashes, some Americans are preparing for post-presidential election violence by buying guns and other supplies.

Like millions of Americans, Converse, 43, fears the potential for violence that experts say may accompany this year's presidential election?

Most experts predict scattered violence is the worst the United States could experience this Election Day, given isolated incidents that have already taken place this year.

But across the country, Americans like Converse are stocking up and preparing to hunker down to ride out a possible wave of sustained election-relatedchaos.

Federal agents detain a woman early on July 27, 2020, outside of the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, during a protest. (Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK).

After years of growing hate crimes and violence, experts said there is a concern that armed right-wing terrorists might take to the streets if there are delays in election results or an unfavorable outcome, such as Democrat Joe Biden taking the White House. .

"Everyone I know is concerned both about voter intimidation at the polls and potential violence as we get results from the election, and sort of what that might look like, not just around the election, but between the election and the inauguration," says Carolyn Gallaher, a professor at American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C., and an expert on extremist violence in the United States.

has a long history of violent protest, from the firebombing and shootings at abortion clinics by anti-abortion extremists to the 25 bombings committed by left-wing Weather Underground terror group opposing the Vietnam War and racism, experts say widespread predictions of election-related violence are unprecedented.

Further fueling potential violence: The staggering number of guns bought this year.

"The violence will occur either way," says Gallaher.

"We're looking at one of the most profound civil rights movements this country has seen in 50 years and the president of the United States is conflating the Black Lives Movement with politically motivated violence," says Brian Griffey, an Amnesty International regional researcher and advisor who has worked in Ukraine, Nepal and Kosovo.

A protester inspects the torn-down fence outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Ore., in the early morning of July 26, 2020. (Photo: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY NETWORK).

Things have long moved past political rivalries and now many Americans see this election as a battle for the heart and soul of the country, says Jose De Bastos, a security analyst with WorldAware,a risk management company.

De Bastos predicts any violence that materializes will likely be centered around government institutions, like city halls and courthouses, because people often attack symbols of power.

He says early reports of violence or averted violence, like the Michigan governor's apparent near-abduction by right-wing terrorists, are rightfully scaring people.

While many of those moves by the wealthy who can work remotely were planned before the election, the potential for violence has sharpened concerns

Miller expects scattered violence around the country — "emotional, irrational violence and opportunistic looting by bad people" — rather than any sort of organized violence

Converse, the mother who lives in suburban Denver, says the fear of election violence adds to her overall concern about the state of the country

She says she's seen little hope for optimism given the political divides, and vividly remembers the panic that set in at the beginning of the pandemic as Americans discovered they couldn't buy toilet paper