On the eve of election day, the windows of businesses across downtown Washington, D.C., are covered by wooden boards, the White House complex remains fenced in and shut off to the public and city officials are preparing for a number of demonstrations starting Tuesday night.
“I do have concerns. We will have the entire police department working that day and on the days that follow,” said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham. “[But] we do not have any credible threats right now of violence.”
Chief Newsham says the city has received a number of requests for permits to demonstrate, but none of those requests had been approved as of Monday night, a spokesperson for the department told Spectrum News.
What's happening in D.C. is being mirrored in cities across the country – from New York to California – in advance of the results of the election.
In New York, boards are going up in Herald Square, SoHo and other shopping districts around the city and country. It's a reaction to the chaos that broke out five months ago; windows of stores shattered as people grabbed any items they could.
“Out of an abundance of caution, like many businesses, we are implementing additional security measures at certain locations in the event of civil unrest due to the current election. This could include boarding or additional security personnel. As always, the safety of our customers, associates, and communities, as well as the protection of our physical assets, is of utmost importance," Saks Fifth Avenue said in a statement.
The NYPD said additional cops have been told to be in uniform if they are needed and officers have been retraining over the last several months on how to deal with large protests.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there's no specific threat, and is urging New Yorkers to protest peacefully if they choose to.
Across downtown D.C., especially near the National Mall and the city’s federal buildings, the majority of businesses are boarded up in anticipation of election night.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says the city did not recommend that businesses board up ahead of election day, but city officials had advised businesses to prepare ahead of protests over the summer.
Mayor Bowser also said the city hasn’t requested assistance from the National Guard, but “they are on alert should we need to change that posture,” she said in a recent press conference.
The D.C. police department already plans to close almost all of downtown D.C. to parking starting at midnight on November 3rd. The department said those same streets could also be closed down completely if necessary.
The White House, where President Donald Trump will be on election night, remains fenced in as it has been since mostly-peaceful protests over the summer.
The barriers include extra fencing in the area to the South of the White House, The Ellipse, as well as fencing around Lafayette Square, the park that sits on the other side of the White House grounds.
On Tuesday night, more than 20 activist groups are planning a joint demonstration on Black Lives Matter Plaza called the People’s Watch Party.
The group ShutDownDC also has several events and marches planned throughout the week, starting with a gathering outside the White House on election night. Their permit application submitted to the National Parks Service requests approval for up to 10,000 people.
This summer, the D.C. Council unanimously passed a police reform bill that prohibits the use of tear gas, pepper spray, riot gear, rubber bullets and stun grenades by D.C. police and federal police on non-federal D.C. property.