Federal authorities are expected to boost safety measures surrounding the White House in preparation for potential unrest in the nation’s capital on Election Day and beyond.
One new measure will be a “non-scalable” fence around the perimeter of the White House, similar to the one put in place in June amid social unrest after the death of George Floyd, according to reports from CNN and NBC News. Additionally, 250 National Guardsmen were put on standby in the event there are protests downtown.
Federal authorities have been preparing for the possibility of unrest following the election for months, CNN previously reported. There have been more than 60 meetings since January between the White House National Security Council, the Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the various intelligence agencies, and the military in an effort to prepare for any possible election outcome.
“If there’s no winner, you will see significant deployments of officers at all levels across the capital,” said Patrick Burke, executive director of the Washington, D.C., Police Foundation. “Officers will get cancellations of days off, extensions of shifts and full deployments of officers across the city.”
The White House is not the only place in Washington, D.C., that is preparing for a volatile election night and subsequent fallout. Last month, Washington, D.C., Metro Police Chief Peter Newsham warned the District’s City Council that there will likely be unrest surrounding the election. Many businesses in close proximity to the White House have boarded up their windows in preparation.
Cities all over the country are preparing for violence regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, which is a continuation of societal unrest that has been in the spotlight amid the coronavirus pandemic. Different parts of the country have faced widespread protests regarding COVID-19 related lockdowns, the deaths or shootings of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement officials, and the president’s nomination and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
