Yes, this is likely. It will be concentrated in very limited areas.
Only a very limited number of places in Indiana. Even in Chicago-influenced Lake County (home of Gary Indiana) where 70% are democrats, only 58% voted for Clinton. And it was a tie in St Joseph County where Mayor Pete is. So, you got those two and maybe a couple areas in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and some students in Bloomington.
There will be zero where I am. The number one employer is a coal-based aluminum plant that Obama forced closed but restarted because of Trump. The few remaining elected democrats actually support Trump.
As an example, Trump had a rally near here. For weeks the media pushed that there were going to be thousands of protesters, many who were going to riot. The reality was there were 13,000 Trump supporters and under 150 anti-Trump protesters. There were three incidents. One anti -Trumper hit a MAGA hat wearer. The MAGA hat wearer punched him back knocking him out. The police arrested both then released them after they paid a small amount. An ANTIFA type got in an argument with a cafe owner and pulled a knife on him. Three people reached for their guns and he dropped the knife and was picked up by a cop. Another ANTIFA type slapped a woman and then ran away. On the positive side, a protester lost his wallet which was found by a pro-Trumper. The pro-Trumper turned it in to police who returned it to the owner. The media appeared heartbroken by how quite it was.
There were a couple days of riot in Indianapolis in the mid 1990s in response to a police incident. Primarily it was activists bussed in from St Louis and Chicago. They allowed them to break windows for a couple nights. But once it started to get beyond that it was shut down.
Violent riots are just not embedded in the culture here.
Well, ultimately whoever convinces the Chief Justice to swear him/her in will probably come out on top. That is a pretty powerful tradition. Cant imagine the majority not accepting that.
I am very familiar in the area of which you speak. In fact, I once worked for Uncle Al while working on my undergrad degree nearby.
I might suggest that you reconsider your position of "it can't happen here." While I would agree with you in general, I think there's going to be a lot of priming the pump, politically speaking, in the year preceding the election.
Take a close look at the largest town in the area of which you speak. Almost 1 out of 4 (actually 23.3%) live in poverty. The town has a higher crime rate than 96% of the rest of the US and 98% of the rest of Indiana.
These are the exact people which will be pandered to by the Leftists. They are falling all over themselves promising free stuff to everybody. They will be expecting it, after all. . .they are ENTITLED to it.
I have no doubt that Trump's election numbers will be like they were in 2016. The problem is, as others have pointed out, is that some won't wish to observe the legal definition of winning. We have already had the Governor of Colorado say that he will "most likely" direct Colorado's Electoral candidates to side with the popular vote (note the caveat. . .I'd bet that he will claim he was just considering the idea if Trump wins the Popular Vote). I also promise you that if it's close, every freaking news channel (with the possible exception of FOX) will be screaming for blood and how the dreams and lives of millions of poor and dependents were ripped from their hands by the crooked, evil conservatives. They will make those poor feel that they've had their promised welfare hikes, their free cell phone, their free food, their free homes, and everything else stolen from them.
That town of which you speak recently held a vote of it's own police officers that show a ridiculously large number of them have no confidence in their own Police Chief. With the number of meth busts, the number of murders, rapes, etc. climbing while the number of fielded officers drops. . .it's no wonder.
That river city is a powder keg and the Leftists are running around with fists full of strike-anywhere matches in one hand and a can of gasoline in the other. I would still expect something to happen if the Conservative win and the riots happen elsewhere. The squeaky wheel does, indeed, get the oil.
And, while the result may not be as spectacular as, say, Chicago, East St. Louis, Nashville, etc. . .if you're caught in a crowd of 150 pissed off liberal free-everything promisees. . .
Well, it may not be the best day you've ever had.
The Professor
PS- Oh, don't forget that the kids nowadays have been conditioned to flashmob for any reason whatsoever. So, maybe protests are out, but if you're in the Drugstore they attack, will the results not be the same? After all, they've been taught that Trump will take away their free ride future, their free healthcare (and subsequently their lives), their environment and their world (what, in 12 years?).