Tipsheet

As Concerns Mount Over Election Unrest, Authorities Begin Preparations

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  November 04, 2024 8:30 AM

Authorities are preparing for potential election-related unrest this week, installing security fencing around key properties.

Secret Service erected metal fencing around the White House, U.S. Capitol, and Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington D.C. residence, and put security measures in place around the convention center in Florida where former President Donald Trump will hold an election-night event. 

“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 said in a statement released Sunday. “These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday’s election.”

Authorities know of no credible threats, Washington’s police chief said at a news conference, adding there is “no need for any alarm.”

Still, signs of caution proliferated this weekend, as the Secret Service erected new, eight-foot-high metal fences around the White House and Treasury Department complex, and adjacent parts of Lafayette Square, as well as outside the Naval Observatory grounds and Harris’s residence. The Capitol reintroduced temporary bicycle-rack barriers posted with signs stating, “Police Line: Do not cross,” surrounding its perimeter. The agency also is installing physical security measures outside the West Palm Beach, Florida, convention center where Donald Trump will hold his election-night party, not far from his residence at Mar-a-Lago. […]

D.C. police also announced street closures beginning 7 p.m. Monday in preparation of Harris’s election-night party at Howard University.

As authorities worked to fortify public assets, some business and property owners braced for the worst, surging private security, shoring up street-level windows and entrances, and finalizing contingency plans in anticipation of possible looting or rioting. Owners of commercial buildings near the White House boarded up or added fencing outside street-level businesses and shops, with business association leaders saying they would rather overprepare than sustain damage in the event of street violence, although District officials have said there is no need to cover windows. (The Washington Post)

Those in charge of downtown commercial office buildings are also mobilizing private security to work 12-hour shifts, particularly focused on high-risk areas. 

While most are not expecting the chaos of George Floyd riots or post-2020 demonstrations, “People would rather be overprepared and have nothing happen, as opposed to the alternative,” Eric Jones, VP of government affairs for the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, told The Washington Post.

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