America’s New Normal: Fences Go Up Across D.C. as Election Day Arrives

Stores in Washington, D.C., have been boarded up but are still promising customers they are open, while bollards and fences have appeared around key landmarks in the city, as the capital prepares for potential unrest on Tuesday and beyond.
Multiple buildings close to the White House had barricaded their windows by Sunday night, while workers were seen during the day erecting anti-scale fencing around the White House complex.
Less than three miles away at Howard University, anti-car bomb concrete blocks were lowered into place around Vice President Kamala Harris’ alma mater, where she plans to spend Election Night watching the results come in. Additional fencing was also erected at the U.S. Naval Observatory, the Vice President’s official residence.
While D.C. is not unused to such security measures, the visible increase in activity comes amid anxiety that protests could erupt after a close-fought and contentious campaign that could presage a days-long wait for a winner to be declared.
The city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, urged her residents and others to be patient as votes are counted
“The other thing to be patient about is that one candidate may declare a victory based on nothing,” Mayor Bowser said at a briefing Monday, an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election even after it was called for President Biden.
Pamela Smith, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said there was “no credible threat” of violence in the capital as of Monday afternoon.
“There will be no tolerance for violence in our city, no destruction or any unlawful behavior,” Chief Smith said. “We will hold all offenders accountable.
“Should it require additional time to know the results of this election, we want everyone to know that we are ready to handle many different scenarios, and we have the right people in place to keep out city safe.”
Smith said that her officers were working with other local and federal partners, adding that it was the U.S. Secret Service’s choice to put up extra fencing around the White House and Naval Observatory.
The Secret Service told Newsweek that it was working with federal, state and local partners in D.C. as well as Palm Beach, Florida, where former President Donald Trump lives. He is expected to spend Tuesday night at a watch party at the city’s convention center, not far from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“In the coming days, fencing and other physical public safety measures will be installed around the Naval Observatory, White House, and the Palm Beach County Convention Center,” a Secret Service spokesperson said via email. “These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide-ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday’s election.”
Mayor Bowser added that the city was prepared for celebrations should a winner is declared late Tuesday, and that officials wanted them to celebrate “responsibly and peacefully”.
When asked about businesses boarding up their windows in downtown D.C., the mayor said it was not her advice to do so and urged owners to keep in touch with local leaders and law enforcement.
At Howard University, Chief Smith said her department was liaising with the Secret Service on security for Harris’ election watch party, to make sure those attending were able to arrive and leave safely.
Smith described the city as being in “full activation posture,” with additional officers deployed in key areas downtown, aided by the watchful eyes of hundreds of surveillance cameras and drones.
Much of the heightened security would last through Inauguration Day, she said, which will include the certification of the results before a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2025. The Department of Homeland Security has designated that session a National Special Security Event (NSSE), the first for an Electoral College certification. The designation comes four years after a mob of Trump supporters rioted at the Capitol, where the certification takes place.
The D.C. National Guard told Newsweek it had not received any additional requests for assistance with security, other than an element of its 33rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.
That team is tasked with preventing “domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive” incidents, and had been requested by the capital’s fire department.
Newsweek reached out to Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS Department for further comment Monday afternoon via email.
Mayor Bowser did say on Monday that the city expected to request the National Guard’s services at some point before Jan. 20, 2025, without offering specifics.
The United States Capitol Police said it had no comment to make when Newsweek reached out Monday morning.