Washington begins boarding up as US election looms

As the US capital prepared for Tuesday’s tense presidential election and any possible recurrence of the horrifying violence that broke out during the 2020 vote, businesses in Washington were boarding up.

In addition to saying they do not anticipate a winner between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump to be announced on Election Day, city officials have issued a warning about a “fluid, unpredictable security environment” in the days and possibly weeks following the polls close.

The preparations are plagued by the spectre of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the former president’s electoral defeat to Joe Biden.

“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.

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

As construction workers toiled in unusually warm autumn weather to create the structure that would be part of the inauguration events, a security fence divided the lush Lafayette Park in front of the presidential residence, with barricades piled up behind it.

Normally, the construction starts in November, but during the Capitol riot, workers were forced to evacuate as Trump fans crowded the steps of the congressional building.

Construction started one month ahead of schedule this year, according to the National Park Service, “to accommodate additional time needed for a safer and more secure environment for construction activities.”

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