Washington D.C. braces for civil unrest by erecting riot fences

Businesses are boarding up in Washington as the capital braces for Tuesday's knife-edge presidential election - and any potential repeat of the shocking violence that erupted in the wake of 2020's vote.

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

The specter of January 6, 2021, the day that Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn the former president's election loss to Joe Biden - hangs heavy over the preparations.

Rings of fencing now envelope the White House, U.S. Capitol building and Vice President Kamala Harris's residence. 

'In many respects, our preparations for 2024 started on January 7 of 2021,' Christopher Rodriguez, Washington's assistant city administrator, told a city council briefing on election preparedness last week.

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

This time round, Trump has repeatedly refused to state whether he will accept the election results, and is already alleging fraud and cheating in swing states such as Pennsylvania, laying the groundwork for what many fear will be more unrest.

'There is concern around the city. We're not expecting full-fledged pandemonium like we saw after January 6, or four years ago,' said Eric J. Jones, vice president of government affairs for the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, to The Washington Post. 

'Honestly, it's just fear,' Jones said. 'I'm getting constant emails and text messages because people are really engaged. … People would rather be overprepared and have nothing happen, as opposed to the alternative.

'At a time when we are trying to revitalize, especially our downtown core, what we don't want is destruction of property that discourages folks from coming back to the city, or that creates a situation where we are trying to rebuild those areas,' Jones said.

Around the corner from the White House workers have been hammering fresh-smelling plywood into place at several businesses along Pennsylvania Avenue and Treasury Department complex.

Some businesses and property owners are bracing for the worst and reinforcing  windows and entrances at street-level in case there's any looting or rioting. 

A 8ft high security fence cuts across leafy Lafayette Park, in front of the presidential mansion, with barricades stacked up behind it as construction workers have been laboring in unseasonably warm fall weather to build the stand that will form part of the ceremonies for the inauguration.

The work usually begins in November but during the Capitol riot, workers had to flee as Trump supporters swarmed the steps of the seat of Congress.

This year, the National Park Service said, construction began a month early 'to accommodate additional time needed for a safer and more secure environment for construction activities.'

Rodriguez, speaking during the city council briefing, warned especially of disinformation on social media in the days and weeks to come that could impact safety in the capital city.

International events such as Israel's war in Gaza add a 'layer of complexity... which could yield political violence,' he said.

The FBI said it was setting up a command post to monitor threats, while the Secret Service -- the agency tasked with protecting presidents, their families and high-level officials -- said it would 'enhance our security posture if necessary.'

'The Secret Service is working closely with federal, state and local partners in Washington, DC and Palm Beach County, Florida to ensure heightened levels of Election Day safety and security,' the agency said in a statement on Sunday. 

'These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday's election.' 

The Capitol Police, many of whose members were wounded during the January 6 attack, have not commented on its security preparations, though Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told a press conference that they were 'prepared.'

No 'credible threat' to target Washington during the election period has yet been identified, Washington's police chief Pamela Smith told a briefing.

Police will support peaceful protests, she said, but 'we will not tolerate any violence of any kind.'

'We will not tolerate any riots, we will not tolerate the destruction of property, we will not tolerate any unlawful behavior,' she said.

All eligible 3,300 D.C. police officers will work 12-hour shifts with most leave canceled through at least the election 'to ensure we have enough officers on the street and in every corner of the District.'

She promised a 'visible' show of force in the city in the coming days and weeks - culminating in some 4,000 reinforcements for Inauguration Day on January 20.

On Friday, tourists crowded a spot on the Ellipse, the park in front of the White House where Trump told his supporters on January 6 to 'fight like hell'.

'Look at the guns,' muttered one, as armed Secret Service agents stood silently before the barricades.