Washington D.C. Puts Fences Around Capitol And Other D.C. Buildings Ahead Of Election Night (Photos)
Government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the Treasury Department, as well as local businesses, have installed fencing and boarded up windows as a protective measure against potential unrest ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Fencing is erected around the Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kent ... [+]
The U.S. Capitol, White House, Treasury Department and the vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C. are among the government buildings that have installed protective fencing.
Fencing installed around government buildings include eight-foot-tall, anti-scaling metal fences, and the Capitol is surrounded by bicycle racks that have signs stating: “Police Line: Do not cross.”
Authorities have also installed fencing around Howard University, Harris’ alma mater and the location of her election night watch party, where the surrounding streets will be closed starting Monday night.
Businesses in D.C., including Peet’s Coffee and McDonald’s, have boarded up their windows in anticipation of possible looting or street violence.
Fencing will also be installed around the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, where former President Donald Trump will host his election watch party, and some roads surrounding the center will be closed.
D.C. police are not aware of any credible threats and have said there is “no need for any alarm,” the Washington Post reported.
Bicycle racks around the Capitol have signs that say "Police line: Do not cross." (Photo by Valerie ... [+]
Fencing is installed around Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo ... [+]
A U.S. Post Office location is boarded up in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
A Washington, D.C. McDonald's location is boarded up. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Workers erect anti-scale fencing outside Howard University, Vice President Kamala Harris' alma mater ... [+]
Metal fencing is constructed near the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Law enforcement in various swing states have installed security measures to protect voting locations and officials who will count ballots in the days following the election. In Maricopa County, Arizona, a critical battleground county that was central to Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen from him after Biden won Arizona in a tight race, will use snipers, drones, metal detectors and security cameras to protect its vote tabulation center.
Fear of unrest and looting in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere lingers after unrest was recorded following the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, including the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well as the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. Police estimated rioters during Trump’s inauguration in 2017 caused about $100,000 in property damage in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reported. During the George Floyd protests, various D.C. monuments were vandalized, including the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial, and protesters set fire to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square. D.C. was the site of several protests following Trump’s election loss in 2020, including a rally on Nov. 14, 2020, in which thousands of Trump supporters and members of the Proud Boys clashed with counter-protesters and police officers and parroted Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen. At another pro-Trump rally with Proud Boys members in D.C. the following month, four people were stabbed and at least two dozen were arrested. At the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021, in which pro-Trump protesters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop the counting of Electoral College votes to keep Trump in power, four people died in the crowd and estimated damages to the Capitol reportedly exceeded $30 million.
Fencing erected at White House, VP residence as D.C. braces for unrest (The Washington Post)
Panic buttons, drones, snipers among plans to guard a high-risk election (The Washington Post)