Authorities to reportedly build 'non-scalable' fence around White House ahead of Election Day
Authorities are planning to erect fencing around the White House in preparation for possible election protests, CNN reports.
Federal authorities will put "non-scalable" fencing into place around "the entire perimeter of the White House" on Monday, according to the CNN report. This will reportedly be the same type of fencing that was previously put up around the White House over the summer amid protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd. NBC News is also reporting that this "non-scalable" fence is set to go up around the White House and that "250 National Guardsmen have been put on standby."
The White House on lockdown: A federal law enforcement source tells NBC that beginning tomorrow, crews will build a “non-scalable” fence to secure the WH complex, Ellipse and Lafayette Square.
250 National Guardsmen have been put on standby, reporting to Metro Police officials.
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) November 2, 2020
As CNN notes, numerous business in D.C. have recently started to board up windows and doors, preparing for potential unrest. A recent YouGov poll found that over half of both Republicans and Democrats expected to see an increase in violence after the election, The Hill reports.
Patrick Burke, the executive director of the Washington, D.C., Police Foundation, previously told CNN that D.C. Metro police have been preparing for over a year for possible election fallout, as they usually do, and he said that "if there's no winner" on Tuesday, "you will see significant deployments of officers at all levels across the capital."