Government, private businesses erect barricades in preparation for Election Day

From government agencies to private citizens – many are planning for Election Day unrest by boarding up their buildings.

The Secret Service confirmed that it was erecting barriers around major sites in the nation’s capital, including the White House and the vice president’s residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Meanwhile, private businesses in major cities, like New York, Portland and Washington, D.C., have also followed suit by boarding up their storefronts.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Secret Service said it was “working closely” with federal, state and local partners in both the nation’s capital and Palm Beach County, Florida, in order to implement “heightened levels of safety and security” ahead of Tuesday’s election. In addition to the White House and the Naval Observatory, fencing will also block off the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and authorities have used bike-rack barriers to fortify the Capitol, according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Howard University, where Harris will be on election night, will also see heightened security measures, local D.C. police indicated.

Pedestrians walk past metal security barriers on a street leading to the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in advance of Election Day. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Individual states are also ramping up security efforts, including erecting barricades, ahead of Tuesday’s election. In Luzerene County in battleground Pennsylvania, “protective boulders” have been placed around the county’s Bureau of Elections office – just one of several security measures the office has taken, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, additional police are expected to be deployed to polling sites on Election Day and the state is activating a Homeland Security Operations Center at the Massachusetts State Police Headquarters in Farmington, according to a local news report.

On Friday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard to help respond to potential violence “leading up to, on, and potentially extending beyond Nov. 5.”

In addition to the government, images and videos of businesses in D.C., New York City and Portland, Oregon, have begun surfacing on social media ahead of Tuesday’s election.

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