Fort Washington: Businesses prepare for unrest as election anxiety spikes

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 – Businesses shuttered in Washington as the US capital braced for Tuesday’s sharp presidential election – and a possible repeat of the shocking violence that erupted in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

City officials have warned of a “fluid, unpredictable security environment” in the days and possibly weeks after polls close, adding that they do not expect a winner between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump to emerge on Election Day proclaimed.

The specter of January 6, 2021 – the day Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the former president’s election loss to Joe Biden – hangs heavily over the preparations.

“In many ways, our preparations for 2024 began on January 7, 2021,” Christopher Rodriguez, Washington’s assistant city manager, told a city council briefing last week on preparing for the election.

Four years ago, Washington was repeatedly rocked by sometimes violent demonstrations, from the Black Lives Matter protests during the pandemic-hit summer of 2020 to the deadly riot at the Capitol.

This time around, Trump has repeatedly refused to say whether he will accept the election results and is already accusing fraud and deception in swing states like Pennsylvania, laying the groundwork for what many fear will be more unrest.

Around the corner from the White House, workers at several businesses on Pennsylvania Avenue were hammering fresh-smelling plywood into place Friday.

A security fence bisected the leafy Lafayette Park in front of the presidential mansion, with barricades stacked behind it as construction workers worked in unseasonably warm fall weather to build the stand that will be part of the inauguration ceremonies.

Work usually begins in November — but during the Capitol riot, workers were forced to flee as Trump supporters stormed the steps of the seat of Congress.

This year, the National Park Service said, construction began a month earlier “to accommodate the additional time needed to provide a safer environment for construction activities.”

“I’m disappointed because we wanted to take a picture in front of the White House,” said a tourist in the park, part of a group of Texas women who were in town for the Women’s March the next day, and who were wearing pearl necklaces in the park. honor of Harris – told AFP.

‘Visible’ display of power

During the city council briefing, Rodriguez warned in particular about disinformation on social media in the coming days and weeks that could affect security in the capital.

International events such as Israel’s war in Gaza add a “layer of complexity… that could lead to political violence,” he said.

The FBI said it was setting up a command post to monitor threats, while the Secret Service – the agency charged with protecting presidents, their families and senior officials – said it would “improve our security posture if that would be necessary’.

The Capitol Police, many of whose members were injured in the January 6 attack, would not comment to AFP on security preparations, although Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told a news conference they were “prepared.”

No “credible threat” has yet been identified that would target Washington during the election season, Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a briefing.

Police would support peaceful protests, she said, but “we will not tolerate any violence.”

“We will not tolerate rioting, we will not tolerate the destruction of property, we will not tolerate unlawful behavior,” she said.

She promised a “visible” show of force in the city in the coming days and weeks — culminating in about 4,000 reinforcements for Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

On Friday, tourists crowded a spot on the Ellipse — the park in front of the White House where Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell” on Jan. 6 — where they had a view of the White House.

“Look at the guns,” one muttered as armed Secret Service agents stood silently in front of the barricades. —AFP