After the 2020 presidential election, thousands of Donald TrumpB次元官网网址檚 most fervent supporters heeded his call to join a protest of his defeat.

Following TrumpB次元官网网址檚 lies about a stolen election, hundreds of them under the banners of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other extremist groups and movements.

Many of those far-right networks have dissolved, splintered or receded from public view since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. But the specter of election-related chaos hasnB次元官网网址檛 vanished with them. Political violence remains a persistent threat heading into the Nov. 5 election, experts warn.

Election officials have been inundated with , and the prospect of B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� organizations wreaking havoc. The FBI was investigating on Monday after inside drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and in nearby Vancouver, Washington.

Trump has used social media to promote that have become mainstream features of Republican politics. Many, himself, have tried to recast Capitol rioters as 1776-style patriots and political prisoners. Trump also has vowed to use the military to go after

Four years ago, most of the Trump supporters in the mob had no criminal record or any group affiliations beyond their shared allegiance to a president who exhorted them to That helps explain why it can be difficult for authorities to identify and ward off threats.

B次元官网网址淚t only takes one person to cause a lot of damage,B次元官网网址� said American University professor Kurt Braddock, who studies extremism.

Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the , said the extremists she monitors donB次元官网网址檛 seem to be fixated on this yearB次元官网网址檚 election B次元官网网址� at least in their public chatter online. Many likely learned a lesson from the Capitol riot defendants who flooded social media with self-incriminating posts before, during and after the siege.

B次元官网网址淲e have no idea if thereB次元官网网址檚 something going on in encrypted chats,B次元官网网址� she added.

During this election cycle, Trump and his allies have stirred up anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant discourse in a way that galvanizes extremists, experts say. After Jan. 6, the Proud Boys staged protests at . More recently, Springfield, Ohio, was overwhelmed with hoax bomb threats after Trump and running mate JD Vance amplified about Haitian immigrants in the city.

All manner of far-right conspiracy theories are spreading virtually unchecked on , including a firehose of lies about the federal governmentB次元官网网址檚 response to , a swing state.

Trump and his allies often use his rallies as a platform for spewing racism and xenophobia, including one Sunday at that drew comparisons to . Vice President Kamala Harris said she believes Trump is a fascist after his former chief of staff, John Kelly, said the former president while in office.

Trump was during one of against him this year. He has accused Democrats of fostering a volatile political climate by accusing him of being a threat to democracy.

Beirich said it could be difficult for authorities to curb election-related threats B次元官网网址渂ecause it can happen all over the country.B次元官网网址� She and other experts fear extremists will try to disrupt ballot counting, possibly in battleground states.

B次元官网网址淚t feels a bit like a calm before the storm,B次元官网网址� she said.

Extremism experts are hardly alone in their fears: About 4 in 10 registered voters say they are B次元官网网址渆xtremelyB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渧eryB次元官网网址� concerned about violent attempts to overturn the results of next monthB次元官网网址檚 election, according to conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Of the more than 1,500 defendants charged in the Jan. 6 attack, more than 200 have been linked to extremist groups or movements by federal authorities, according to .

That includes approximately 80 leaders, members or associates of the far-right Proud Boys and over 30 defendants linked to the anti-government Oath Keepers. Other groups, including the , have had smaller numbers of followers charged in federal court.

Four years ago, Trump told the Proud Boys to during his first debate against Democrat Joe Biden. Group leaders celebrated TrumpB次元官网网址檚 shout-out and eagerly joined the fray when Trump invited supporters to Washington for his B次元官网网址淪top the StealB次元官网网址� rally.

Today, some of the and are serving prison terms of up to for violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Trump to Biden.

Imprisoning the groupsB次元官网网址� national leaders left a void. For the Proud Boys, it was partially filled by local chapters that consider themselves autonomous and tend to promote more extreme ideologies, said , a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate.

B次元官网网址淭heir organizational capabilities are greatly diminished from where they were in 2020,B次元官网网址� Holt said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 always the possibility that, in a post-election period, these groups will all of a sudden find the motivation to mobilize and start showing up at events. But theyB次元官网网址檝e been pretty docile this year.B次元官网网址�

The Oath Keepers, which the Yale Law School-educated founded in 2009, has withered since his arrest and incarceration.

B次元官网网址淚t was his baby, and no one has really stepped up to fill his void,B次元官网网址� Holt said.

Dozens of Capitol rioters were followers of the anti-government or belonged to militia groups with names like the , the and the . The governmentB次元官网网址檚 response to Jan. 6 seems to have placed a B次元官网网址渉uge damperB次元官网网址� on militias, Beirich said.

B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 disappear,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey might pop up somewhere else, but I have to say: Militias in the last year or so have been relatively inactive compared to earlier eras.B次元官网网址�

Many other Jan. 6 rioters were inspired by , which centered on the baseless belief that Trump was secretly fighting a Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cabal of prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites. The self-described remains one of the most recognizable figures from the riot.

, author of B次元官网网址淭he Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything,B次元官网网址� said the QAnon movement has evolved beyond its bizarre web of B次元官网网址渞iddles and codes.B次元官网网址�

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after Jan. 6, driving believers to platforms like Telegram or TrumpB次元官网网址檚 Truth Social. Rothschild said many of them flocked back to Twitter, now called X, after Elon Musk bought it. He believes QAnon adherents remain B次元官网网址渆xtremely dangerous.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e had four years to build up their anger and grievance,B次元官网网址� he said.