Washington DC is preparing for post-election protests regardless of who wins on Tuesday, boarding up businesses near the White House, deploying more police and urging residents to speak up if they see anything.
Preparations began in the days leading up to the election, when business owners put up plywood defenses around their storefronts in downtown DC. Independent journalist Andrew Leyden posted photos and a video Wednesday of boarded-up businesses near the White House, showing plywood plastered at storefronts, similar to how businesses were protected in 2020 during the unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In a statement to the New York Sun, the Metropolitan Police Department said it is preparing for all scenarios if violence erupts in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“We recognize the importance of upholding the First Amendment rights of individuals to peacefully express their views, and we are committed to facilitating lawful demonstrations while maintaining law and order,” police said. “While there is no evidence of large-scale protests, events, demonstrations or violent activity, MPD encourages the public to remain vigilant.”
The department added that additional security measures and road closures will be in place leading up to the certification of the elections on January 6, 2025, and during the presidential inauguration two weeks later.
“I want to emphasize that this is only a proactive measure and there is no cause for concern,” MPD Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference on Tuesday. “I want to be very clear: we will not tolerate any violence. We will not tolerate rioting, we will not tolerate destruction of property, we will not tolerate unlawful behavior. Violators will be arrested.”
Ms. Smith noted that additional officers will be deployed on the streets, and some will work longer shifts to help protect Washington residents during election week. Thousands of additional officials will be brought to the nation’s capital in the weeks after the election to help secure the city for the election certification and inauguration.
In recent days, a number of ballot boxes across the country have been destroyed with firebombs, destroying a number of votes. Ms. Smith says her department is aware of such issues, and takes special care to ensure all voters’ ballots are accurately tabulated.
“We will – as with the Metropolitan Police Department – pay special attention to the polling stations and our polling stations. We are aware of incidents of ballot box tampering across the country, and we will not tolerate any form of voter intimidation – of disruption – in this election process,” Ms Smith said.
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