Man with torch, flare gun arrested at US Capitol: ‘Smelled like fuel’

The US Capitol Police on Tuesday arrested a man at the visitors centre of the Capitol Building, the seat of the US Congress, as the country votes to elect its next president in the closely fought election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Police said that the man smelled like fuel and was carrying a torch and a flare gun.
The Capitol Visitor Centre was closed while they investigated, US Capitol Police added.
Meanwhile, the FBI said that several hoax bomb threats, many of which appeared to originate from Russian email domains, were directed at polling locations in three battleground states–Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the FBI said in a statement, adding that election integrity was among the bureau’s highest priorities.
In view of the high-spirited poll battle, several US states, anticipating election unrest, have taken strong security precautions.
According to officials, troops were on standby in several states, including Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, Washington, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
Concerned about the potential for protests or even violence, several schools and churches in Arizona that had served as voting centers in the past will not serve as polling stations this year.
Commenting on the possibility of post-election violence, the Republican candidate dismissed the fears and stated that his supporters are not violent and there would be no violence. After the 2020 election, where Trump lost to Joe Biden, the country witnessed Republican unrest, which later led to violent scenes at the US Capitol.