The United States is on high alert in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, with warnings of possible violent protests as airport controls tighten.

Washington looks like a war zone with thousands of troops and military vehicles deployed to ensure the safe inauguration of new President Joseph Biden and a peaceful transfer of power.

Fearing a repeat of the violence outside the Capitol on January 6, thousands of National Guard troops were sent to Washington over the weekend for Biden's inauguration, the Financial Times reported, noting that with a large military presence, the US capital looked like a war zone.

The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 25.000 troops to the National Guard, security measures have been stepped up at airports, and a large concrete and metal fence has been erected around the Capitol. Much of Washington was closed in the previous days, while Mayor Muriel Bauser extended the state of emergency until January 21, the day after the inauguration.

Security preparations - more intense than for any major ceremony in history - have intensified the surreal dimension of city life, although the scale of the inauguration ceremony has been drastically reduced in the past due to the pandemic, according to the Financial Times.

After the FBI warned that violent protests by Trump supporters could take place in all 50 capitals across the United States in the coming days, authorities across the country are taking precautions and are on high alert, according to the BBC.

The governors of Maryland, New Mexico and Utah have declared a state of emergency ahead of possible protests, while California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin have activated their National Guard and Texas has closed its capital until the day of the inauguration.

Analysts believe that the countries with the biggest disagreements over the election race are at the highest risk of violence.

U.S. authorities are checking hundreds of passengers on planes and tightening airport security, while federal agencies are sending new warnings of possible violence by extremists intensified by the attack on the Capitol, the New York Times reports.

National Guard officials say they will need at least 25.000 troops in Washington.

That number, the paper said, is about three times the total number of US troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria and could be further increased.

Federal officials say a security crackdown is needed to prevent an attack by internal extremists, who the joint assessment of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security is "the most likely threat" to the inauguration.

Thirteen subway stations and several bus lines near the White House will also be closed, and ambulance vehicles will be located in the city center.

Military vehicles and soldiers on the streets, according to the New York Times, caused images of Washington from the time of the Civil War.

The massive military presence in Washington and other cities across the United States underscores fears of a mass uprising by security services, the London Times reported, adding that tensions over the inauguration come amid new revelations about the scale of security breaches during recent attacks on Capitol.

U.S. police and military do not want to repeat the Jan. 6 mistake, the Times reported, adding that federal prosecutors late last week claimed they had "strong evidence" that protesters storming the Capitol intended to capture and kill certain officials, including and Vice President Pence.

Later, according to the newspaper, they withdrew the charges, stressing that the investigation was still at an early stage. US media reported that more than a dozen law enforcement officers, current and former military officers, took part in the intrusion into the Capitol, the London newspaper added.

Even if this week goes smoothly, the Times concludes, America "will find the bones of that catastrophic chapter for years."

Source: MIA