ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – The Orange County Sheriff’s and several local police departments across the county will be taking extra precautions on Election Day and throughout the week in case protests flare up.
So far, there are no indications of planned voter disruption events, protests, or demonstrations on Tuesday or the days following the election, but the sheriff’s department is ready and will activate an operations center to monitor civil unrest for public safety and traffic management, Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.
Braun added the sheriff’s department, which oversees the unincorporated communities of Orange County such as Rossmoor and Coto De Caza and cities including San Clemente, Yorba Linda, and Mission Viejo, have more than 800 trained personnel that “can respond as needed throughout the county.”
The Anaheim Police Dept. is bringing in more officers starting Monday night and will increase patrol at the city’s 17 voting centers, as well as assist the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept., Anaheim Police Sgt. Jake Gallacher said.
The Sheriff's Dept. has been tasked with supporting and providing security for the Orange County Registrar of Voters on Election Day. Sheriff deputies will provide security at the Registrar’s office and accompany drivers from voting collection sites to the office during election night and the days following.
“It is clear that passions are high this election season,” Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement to Spectrum News 1. “My objective is to ensure all residents of Orange County can exercise their right to vote and right to free speech safely. Peaceful free speech will always be supported, but acts that restrict anyone’s right to vote, or cause violence and destruction will be addressed swiftly.”
The increased patrol and preparation come as Election Day culminates a chaotic several months of protests and demonstrations by supporters of both political parties and all occurring amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation is fresh off a summer of protests inspired by the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-mask demonstrations, and pro-President Donald Trump rallies, among many others.
Those protests and rallies have rocked cities across the nation and California, too, with tensions of protesters running high and, in a few cases, resulting in some violence and vandalism.
Orange County has seen several protests and demonstrations leading up to Election Day. Huntington Beach saw its share of tumult as the birthplace of the anti-mask resistance, Trump rallies, and BLM protesters colliding with counter-protesters. Just this past September, in Yorba Linda, a woman drove through a crowd of counter-protesters during a BLM demonstration.
Other cities across the nation are also preparing for possible civil unrest on Election night.
In anticipation of potential disruptions to business, Beverly Hills will close off a portion of Rodeo Drive and add 80 armed security guards, ABC7 reports.
Several businesses on Rodeo Drive, as well as Sunset Boulevard, have boarded up their storefronts.
In New York, several major retailers in SoHo have boarded up. In Washington, D.C., law enforcement is building a “non-scalable fence” around the White House, where President Trump will be on election night, and have 250 members of the National Guard on standby, according to news reports.
While some police departments in Orange County are preparing for possible protests, other police departments have not made special plans yet.
The Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police departments will go about business as usual, but both are prepared to call all hands on deck should protests arise and boil over, authorities in those police departments said.
Still, others are on high alert.
Santa Ana Police spokesman Anthony Bertagna said Police Chief David Valentin had directed a modified tactical alert deployment for Tuesday if there are any election-related public safety concerns.
“Our department operations center has been activated and we are continuing to work with our FBI, DOJ, and OCIAC law enforcement partners for intelligence assessment, mitigation and proportionate response within our de-escalation model,” Bertagna said. “We have no current, specific intelligence related to any concerns in our city.”