Federal authorities were expected to re-erect a “non-scalable” fence around the White House on Monday, a day before a presidential election many fear may lead to mass protest, civil unrest and even armed insurrection.
Amid speculation that the election result will not be immediately known and signs Republicans will either declare victory early or mount legal challenges if Donald Trump appears to have lost, multiple news outlets reported the White House plan, citing anonymous sources.
“The White House on lockdown,” the NBC News White House correspondent, Geoff Bennett, wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
“A federal law enforcement source tells NBC that beginning tomorrow, crews will build a ‘non-scalable’ fence to secure the [White House] complex, Ellipse and Lafayette Square. Two hundred and fifty national guardsmen have been put on standby, reporting to metro police officials.”
The barricade will form a square perimeter around the White House, on 15th Street, Constitution Avenue, 17th Street and H street.
Fencing was put up during the summer, amid national protests against police brutality and systemic racism in the aftermath of the killing by Minneapolis police of George Floyd, an African American man. According to CNN, the new “unscalable” barricade is the same type of fence.
In the summer, amid protests near the White House at which federal agents confronted and assaulted mostly peaceful demonstrators, it was reported that Trump was taken to a protective bunker under the executive mansion. Trump insisted the visit was brief and for inspection purposes.
The summer protests also saw confrontations between law enforcement and protesters, and widespread looting, in other major cities. As the election looms, stores in New York, Washington and elsewhere have been boarding up windows in case of trouble.
Law enforcement agencies are preparing to deploy. Patrick Burke, executive director of the Washington DC Police Foundation, recently told CNN: “If there’s no winner, you will see significant deployments of officers at all levels across the capital.”
In New York, the police commissioner, Dermot Shea, sent a memo to department members in mid-October, indicating that the majority of officers must report to duty in uniform – and be ready to deploy, including officers not normally in uniform, including detectives. The department said it expected protests could become larger and more frequent into early 2021, NBC New York reported.
The NYPD has told businesses in midtown Manhattan to ramp up security in the event of mass protests, according to the Wall Street Journal. There and elsewhere in New York City, such as the SoHo shopping district downtown, windows were smashed and stores were looted this summer.
Curbed noted that other cities, including San Francisco and Washington, saw businesses boarding up windows as a protective measure.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
