On August 25, a 17-year-old American armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 and went to the town of Kenosha, to defend local entrepreneurs from looting, according to his own statement.

When the gunpowder smoke has settled, two men are dead and one injured.

The 17-year-old, who according to several sources was part of a local militia group, became a symbol of the divided United States, which has not seen such violent riots since the protests against the Vietnam War over 50 years ago.

But that was two months ago - with less than a week until the election, other issues are at the top of the political agenda.

- The issue has been a bit overshadowed due to the increased cases of covid-19 and the discussion about a new stimulus package.

Then we are in the middle of the final sprint of the campaign work, the debates and the circus around them have stolen the attention, says Björn Ottosson, US expert at FOI.

However, this does not mean that the security issue is unimportant, even if it has fallen in importance.

- It can be actualized quite significantly if we do not get an election result in a couple of weeks.

Then it can be dramatic, says Björn Ottosson.

Millions of new gun owners

An indicator of how important the issue is after all is about gun ownership.

Recently, several American media have reported that more and more Americans are arming themselves.

Among other things, gun ownership among blacks and women is increasing.

- Many Americans have acquired weapons, it is about millions of new gun owners.

It has to do with both the pandemic and the violence in the streets.

It says something about the fact that there are people out there who think about violence in different ways.

"Some room for nuanced debate"

There is no doubt that the United States is a more polarized country than in a long time, according to Björn Ottosson.

- There is very little space and understanding for a nuanced debate.

People feel pressured to take one side or the other and it is clear that there are two different narratives around many issues.

Jan Hallenberg, research leader and US specialist at UI, is one of those who warned that the violence in the US could get worse.

- There are hundreds of different military associations that are out running in the woods and training with the same kind of weapon that the 17-year-old in Kenosha used.

If these militias act in the open, it can lead to the opposite side also taking up arms and then the situation worsens enormously.