Additional “anti-scale” fencing has gone up around the White House before Election Day.
In a statement Monday, the National Park Service cited election night security “and the need to quickly de-escalate potentially violent encounters, protect park resources and maintain public safety.”
Here’s where the new fencing runs:
- The west sidewalk of 15th Street Northwest, between H Street Northwest and Constitution Avenue Northwest.
- The east sidewalk of 17th Street Northwest, between H Street and Constitution Avenue.
- The north sidewalk of Constitution Avenue, between 15th and 17th streets.
Fencing is already up along H Street Northwest, just north of the White House and Lafayette Park.
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Portions of Lafayette Park, Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House sidewalk remain closed for inaugural-related construction.
Lafayette Square is a lot more fortified. They’ve bisected the park with a second span of eight-foot metal fencing before the Jackson statue, like the one that’s been up for months along H street.
Passerby mutters: “This isn’t normal, none of this is normal.” pic.twitter.com/H7Zqt9mT8J
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) November 2, 2020
In its statement, the park service said the new restrictions will not limit First Amendment activities in the park, “absent a law enforcement need.”
As of last week, at least two demonstrations were planned for the area. One group, Shutdown DC, is set to kick off theirs at 4 p.m. on Election Day at Black Lives Matter Plaza.
A Secret Service spokesperson declined to comment.
According to the park service, the plan for now is to keep this new fencing up until 6 a.m. Sunday.
