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Crowd gathers outside White House as voters continue to cast ballots
InternationalNov 04. 2020
A mask of President Donald Trump is seen as people gather near the White House on Election Day. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Matt McClain
By The Washington Post · Joe Heim, Justin Jouvenal · NATIONAL, POLITICS
WASHINGTON – Voters were still casting ballots across the country, but by Tuesday evening hundreds of people had already gathered outside the White House for what one hoped would become “a going-away party for Trump.”
Rodrigo Moreno of Austin, Texas, wears a shirt with images of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as people gather Tuesday at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Matt McClain
A drum line pounded out a steady beat, dancers waved flags while weaving to the music, and backers of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden occasionally chanted “Vote him out!” at Black Lives Matter Plaza. A handful of President Donald Trump’s supporters also were there.
Millie Landis, 19, and Cecelia Edwards, 20, sophomores at American University, compared the protest to a farewell to Trump. “We want him gone,” Landis said.
In the early evening hours the atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful, a far cry from the potential unrest local and federal officials have been bracing for in the nation’s capital in the wake of a bitter and unprecedented presidential election.
Several dozen District of Columbia police officers casually kept an eye on the scene and even mingled with the crowd. There was a tussle between police and a man who was at the plaza, though it was not immediately clear what prompted it.
The National Park Service had erected a tall fence around the White House in preparation for potential violence. City officials also opened an Emergency Operations Center and increased police and fire staffing to handle any issues. Two federal agencies said they had personnel on standby if needed.
Despite the preparations, D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Rodriguez told WAMU on Tuesday morning that the city had not heard of any concrete plans that might incite violence.
“We don’t have any specific or credible threats to the District of Columbia in the election period,” Rodriguez told the radio station. “However, we are concerned, and we did see violence of course over the summer from some of the First Amendment demonstrations that were here in the city. We are watching for that.”
Some downtown businesses had boarded up shops in anticipation of problems on Election Day or the days that follow.
Roughly a half-dozen groups had applied for and received permits to demonstrate near the White House and other downtown locations on or around Election Day, while others were still being processed. They include social justice and religious organizations.
A group called Shutdown DC, which has been active in the movement for racial justice over the summer and has protested Trump administration actions, organized the Tuesday evening event at Black Lives Matter Plaza. It was slated to go until midnight.
Martha Wilson, of Washington, said she came to the protest because she went to the first Women’s March the day after Trump’s inauguration and “wanted to bring it full circle.”
She rode her bike to the demonstration and wore a mask that read, “All will be well.”
“I hope I’m right,” she said.
Kehinde Ogun wore a bright red shirt with MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN emblazoned on the front. Ogun, who is Black and said he is homeless, said he came to the gathering “to show support for my president.”
Ogun said he backed Trump because of the president’s push for prison reform.
Though the vast majority of the crowd supported Biden, Ogun said he had not heard any criticism or name-calling directed his way.
“Today has been very peaceful, thank God,” he said.
Journalists from Italy, Germany, South Korea and other countries converged on the plaza, interviewing demonstrators and broadcasting home to viewers closely following the U.S. election.
Lex Louffler garnered attention for his sign that read, “my kitten died today and Trump is still worse.” In an interview, Louffler said his kitten, Midnight, died this morning and showed a reporter a photo of the cat from earlier this week.
Louffler, who lives in northern Virginia, said he was demonstrating “as a reminder to Trump that we the people decide, not him.”
Almost everyone in the crowded street wore masks, and organizers offered hand sanitizer and masks to those who wanted them.
Personnel from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service have been readied for any potential unrest in D.C. and other cities across the country, officials familiar with the matter said.
The U.S. Marshal Service confirmed it was prepared if needed, saying in a statement, “While the US Marshals Service generally does not discuss any potential enforcement activities, we can confirm that deputy US Marshals stand ready to respond to violent acts of civil disobedience in the District of Columbia and other locations around the nation,” the agency said in a statement.
The area near the White House was the scene of major protests over the summer in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the custody of Minneapolis police. Some of the protests turned violent.
The Trump administration was widely criticized for sweeping protesters away from Lafayette Square near the White House on June 1, ahead of a photo op by Trump outside a nearby church.
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