Washington DC is gearing up for potential chaos following Election Day as authorities assembled barriers around government buildings – including the vice president’s residence – and business owners boarded up storefronts over the weekend.
The series of security measures come on the eve of the high-stakes presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — which has exposed deep divisions and heightened tensions in the US.
The Secret Service placed 8-foot-high metal fences around the White House, and Harris’ home at the Naval Observatory though officials warned there are no specific threats of violence at this time, the Washington Post reported.
The metal fencing was also around the Treasury Department complex and adjacent parts of Lafayette Square while the Capitol had temporary bike-rack barriers around its perimeter, according to the newspaper.
Physical security measures are also reportedly set to be placed outside the West Palm Beach convention center in Florida.
“The Secret Service is working closely with federal, state and local partners in Washington, DC and Palm Beach County, Florida to ensure heightened levels of Election Day safety and security,” the agency told the Washington Post Sunday.
“These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday’s election.”
Private business and property owners have also worked to board up street-level windows and entrances in the event violence erupts in DC.
Eric J. Jones, of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, told the publication that retailers are concerned about looting and damage.
“We’re not expecting full-fledged pandemonium like we saw after Jan. 6, [2021,] or four years ago,” he said.
“I’m getting constant emails and text messages because people are really engaged. … People would rather be overprepared and have nothing happen, as opposed to the alternative,” said Jones, who is the association’s vice president of government affairs.
Admiral Security Services is expected to have 2,000 private security guards work 12-hour shifts at properties around the city, its executive vice president Leon Beresford told the Washington Post.
The growing apprehension comes four years after the Jan. 6 riot on the Capitol and May 2020 protests over George Floyd’s murder that spiraled into violence. Mayhem also erupted before and after Trump’s 2017 inauguration where protesters smashed downtown windows and clashed with police.
Government buildings were also guarded with security fencing leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
In addition to the newly installed fencing, DC police announced that starting Monday at 7 p.m. there will be street closures and parking restrictions in anticipation of Harris’ election night party on Howard University’s campus.
All of the city’s available 3,300 police officers are reportedly expected to work 12-hour shifts through the election.
