The District of Columbia is preparing for riots on Election night. 

Breitbart News reports, "Boards are going up in Washington, DC, less than a week from the election, at it seems some businesses are anticipating riots on election night."

Pictures showing how D.C. is "boarding up" have been circulating the internet. Take a look, for example, at this:

Work crews have begun covering up the windows of buildings and stores near the White House as the election comes down to the final week. pic.twitter.com/d29CAEq0QS

— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) October 31, 2024

"Large-scale riots and civil unrest"

NBC News's Washington D.C. affiliate reports that D.C. Assistant City Administrator Chris Rodriguez is preparing for "large-scale riots and civil unrest."

Per the outlet:

D.C. Assistant City Administrator Chris Rodriguez briefed the D.C. Council on security preparations for Election Day through Jan. 6 and Inauguration Day. He told lawmakers D.C. is bracing for the possibility of “large-scale riots and civil unrest.”

The police too, according to the outlet, are preparing for this possibility.

Metropolitan Chief of Police Pamela Smith is quoted as saying:

I want to assure you that the Metropolitan Police Department and all of the D.C. government agencies continue to prepare for these events. The Metropolitan Police Department supports individuals peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights. But I want to be very clear: We will not tolerate any violence of any kind. We will not tolerate any riots. We will not tolerate the destruction of property. We will not tolerate any unlawful behavior. Offenders will be arrested and will be held accountable.

We will have to see if Smith stands by this.

"Stand ready and united"

The Washington Examiner reports that most Americans do believe that there will be some form of violence in the coming weeks.

"[S]urveys sho[w] that over half the nation’s voters believe there will be violence between the election and inauguration," the outlet writes.

Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association have released a joint-statement indicating that they "stand ready and united to ensure that Election Day 2024 is secure, safe, and fair.”

The Examiner notes that, thus far, authorities have not come across any specifics in terms of election violence.

Nonetheless, it appears that no one in D.C. is going to take any chances, which is why the city is being boarded up and why authorities are getting ready to respond to any incidents.