Kamala Harris’s campaign has condemned threats by Donald Trump to jail “corrupt” election officials if he wins the presidential election. 

US election administrators accused the former president of intimidation and inciting potential violence over the threats. 

It came after Mr Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday, saying votes in the 2024 election “will be under the closest professional scrutiny”.

He wrote: “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.

“We cannot let our country further devolve into a third world nation, AND WE WON’T!

“Please beware that this legal exposure extends to lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, & corrupt election officials. 

“Those involved in unscrupulous behaviour will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our country.”

Studies have found voter fraud in the US to be extremely rare.

Mr Trump also repeated his baseless claim that his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden was due to fraud – the same message he gave to supporters before the deadly storming of the US Capitol building on 6 January 2021. 

Reacting to the post, Democratic secretary of state in Arizona Adrian Fontes said it was “tyrannical” and had the potential to incite political violence. 

“Sadly, security is now one of the main considerations in election administration,” he told Reuters.

“Trump’s comments give the potential for bad actors to take them as a call to arms.

“We need to protect our election officials and our poll workers. We need to be prepared for just about anything.” 

Ammar Moussa, a Harris spokesperson, said Mr Trump’s comments were “extreme and unhinged”. 

“Donald Trump is further ratcheting up his dangerous threats of revenge and retribution,” he said.