Washington, D.C

Washington DC gears up for possible election chaos with metal fencing around VP’s home and business boarded up

Published

3 months ago

November 4, 2024

Washington DC gears up for possible election chaos with metal fencing around VP’s home and business boarded up

Washington DC is gearing up for potential chaos following Election Day as authorities assembled barriers around government buildings – including the vice president’s residence – and business owners boarded up storefronts over the weekend.

The series of security measures come on the eve of the high-stakes presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — which has exposed deep divisions and heightened tensions in the US.

The Secret Service placed 8-foot-high metal fences around the White House, and Harris’ home at the Naval Observatory though officials warned there are no specific threats of violence at this time, the Washington Post reported.

The metal fencing was also around the Treasury Department complex and adjacent parts of Lafayette Square while the Capitol had temporary bike-rack barriers around its perimeter, according to the newspaper.

Physical security measures are also reportedly set to be placed outside the West Palm Beach convention center in Florida.

“The Secret Service is working closely with federal, state and local partners in Washington, DC and Palm Beach County, Florida to ensure heightened levels of Election Day safety and security,” the agency told the Washington Post Sunday.

“These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday’s election.”

Private business and property owners have also worked to board up street-level windows and entrances in the event violence erupts in DC.

Eric J. Jones, of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, told the publication that retailers are concerned about looting and damage.

“We’re not expecting full-fledged pandemonium like we saw after Jan. 6, [2021,] or four years ago,” he said.

“I’m getting constant emails and text messages because people are really engaged. … People would rather be overprepared and have nothing happen, as opposed to the alternative,” said Jones, who is the association’s vice president of government affairs.

Admiral Security Services is expected to have 2,000 private security guards work 12-hour shifts at properties around the city, its executive vice president Leon Beresford told the Washington Post.

The growing apprehension comes four years after the Jan. 6 riot on the Capitol and May 2020 protests over George Floyd’s murder that spiraled into violence. Mayhem also erupted before and after Trump’s 2017 inauguration where protesters smashed downtown windows and clashed with police.

Government buildings were also guarded with security fencing leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

In addition to the newly installed fencing, DC police announced that starting Monday at 7 p.m. there will be street closures and parking restrictions in anticipation of Harris’ election night party on Howard University’s campus.

All of the city’s available 3,300 police officers are reportedly expected to work 12-hour shifts through the election.

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Washington, D.C

2 dead after separate fires strike Washington, DC

Published

7 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

2 dead after separate fires strike Washington, DC

Two people were killed in separate apartment fires over the course of 24 hours in the nation’s capital this weekend.

D.C. Fire and EMS responded to 13th Street NW near Park Road NW just before 10 p.m. on Friday night following reports of a blaze on the second floor of a three-story apartment. First responders found a man with life-threatening injuries and rushed him to the hospital, but he died Saturday morning.

Firefighters then responded to another blaze at a separate three-story apartment on Newton Street near 18th Street NW. Responders found a woman with lifethreatening injuries on the first floor, and she too died of her injuries in the hospital later Saturday.

Authorities have not released any information about the identities of the two victims. Authorities say the blaze at the woman’s apartment has rendered the whole building unlivable, displacing five people, according to WTOP.

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D.C. Fire and EMS Dept respond to a first-floor apartment fire Newton Street near 18th Street NW in the nation’s capital. (DC Fire and EMS Dept)

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of either fire, the outlet reported.

The blazes came after a week of heavy police presence in Washington, D.C., thanks to the inauguration ceremony for President Donald Trump.

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Thousands of officers and agents from the Department of Homeland Security, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and the National Guard swarmed Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the city throughout the week.

D.C. Fire and EMS Dept officers respond to a blaze in Washington, D.C. (DC Fire and EMS Dept)

The National Guard said it deployed some 7,800 troops to the inauguration.

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Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said city police officers were joined by nearly 4,000 officers from across the country who volunteered to provide support on Inauguration Day.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

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Washington, D.C

2 killed in 2 separate Northwest DC fires

Published

17 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

2 killed in 2 separate Northwest DC fires

A man and a woman were killed in two separate fires overnight in Northwest D.C.

News4 spoke with, Kimberly Permodo, who narrowly escaped the flames and is the daughter of one of the victims.

“It is just really traumatizing what I have experienced,” Perdomo said.

Around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Perdomo woke up to flames in the apartment she shared with her mother on Newton Street NW.

“My first instinct was to look for her and I couldn’t find her,” Perdomo said.

Perdomo identified her mother to News4 as Arely Andrade and shared a photo of them from when she was younger.

Perdomo believes the fire began in the kitchen. She was able to escape, but her mother did not.

She says her mother battled health issues.

“My mom was a really hard-working woman who was suffering from cancer and she had been fighting for it a long time,” Perdomo said.

Before putting out the flames here on Newton Street NW, firefighters responded to another fire just hours before and only a few hours away on 13th Street NW.

“The whole block was blocked off and you could see everybody evacuating from the building,” said Lily McCann, who lives nearby.

A fire broke out at a second-floor apartment around 9:30 p.m. on Friday night, killing a man.

Video from a neighbor shows the scene.

Firefighters say it was difficult to battle the flames because there was a lot of clutter in the home. However, neighbors felt the response was fast.

“From what we saw seemed really quick,” McCann said. “The firemen and women that were all reacting to the fire seemed very equipped.”

Back on Newton Street, crews boarded up the building.

Firefighters say the damage was so significant it’s not safe for people to live there anymore. Five people have been displaced.

Perdomo wishes she could’ve stopped the fire from happening.

“It’s just really heartbreaking because it was just me and her living in the apartment,” Perdomo said. “I wish I could have woken up earlier, probably saved her.”

Firefighters believe both fires were accidental, but are still investigating what caused them.

DC Fire and EMS has not released the name of the man who died in the fire on 13th Street yet.

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Washington, D.C

Bowling Green “presidential enthusiast” travels to D.C.

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

Press Room

Bowling Green “presidential enthusiast” travels to D.C.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Camdon Honshell, a 10-year-old from Bowling Green, attended the presidential inauguration last Monday in Washington, D.C.

He traveled with his father, brother, and uncle to experience the event for the first time.

Camdon is an avid drawer of presidential headshots and even sent one to former President Joe Biden. Biden responded with a personal letter and a signed portrait that showed up at his front door in 2023.

Camdon can also name all U.S. presidents in order from number one to number 47, and even tell you what each president was known for.

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