To be crystal clear, this is to protect against Republicans who are going to be angry when Donald Trump loses the election.
It’s so fucking stupid they have to do this. All because of a conman and the morons that idolize him.
Same. He is cancer.
The Secret Service also have plans for physical security measures outside of the West Palm Beach, Fla. convention center where former President Trump will host an event on Election Night, the outlet reported.
They’re going to need to keep the fascists inside.
Yeah I was gonna say, the call is coming from inside the building on that one.
looks like it went up a couple weeks ago.
doesn’t look super robust, but it’s better than chain link
I’m glad there’s something, since there was a violent coup, but I’m also glad they didn’t go overboard and get like electrified interlocking metal gates.
I mean, there was an attempted coup.
some additional measures should be taken.
Looks solid to me, they definitely didn’t cheap out. Ankered into the ground, connected to each other, and the mesh fine and solid enough to make it hard to get through. They’re also high enough and hard to climb.
This creates enough choke points to control a mass, or to hold up individual groups long enough to get ahead of them.
Keep in mind that there will be additional guards this time and they won’t have just sticks and shields.
oh I must have missed that they were anchored into the ground.
I thought they were just standing on little platforms.
I’m good with anchor points.
I’m concerned about political violence throughout the country Tuesday more than I am in DC. In 2020 we had a very different level of organizing happening on the ground, and it wasn’t unreasonable to be able to muster responses to right wing actions through various mutual aid networks at that time. DC has a great community and plenty of national resources to bring to bear as long as they are willing to use them.
Its the small regional population centers that don’t have that level of preparedness, ability to respond, or sense of how important it is to respond in a timely manner. I’m concerned about the real possibility of mass casualty events, and I don’t think most areas are prepared to deal with that.
I think these are pretty valid concerns. I never imagined we’d need fucking sharpshooters on top of county buildings so they could count ballots safely. It does seem like some of the more contested areas are taking some precautions, I really hope we’re wrong and everything goes smoothly.
Exactly. If you are in DC, you have the DC police, the Capitol police, the Parks police, the Secret Service, the National Guard, and if thats not enough, the god-damned Marine Barracks.
In many US counties, you are basically relying on a (potentially extremly right wing) Sheriff or local police to protect your constitutional rights, and potentially your life.
we dont have national guard, notably.
does it count as ours if we can’t deploy them?
Given that we have a President who won’t be trying to conduct his own coup currently… Yes
Uh, DC can deploy the national guard. You don’t have a governor, so, you know, the president of the united states is authorized to deploy them.
The DC mayor can also request they be deployed, but it needs to be approved by the fed.
Did that stop terrorists from entering the Capital last time?
It doesn’t matter what security measures you put up if a portion of your leadership and government still support fascist movements and just open the gates to let people in.
Previously, on January 6th, Trump actively prevented troops from being deployed to the Capital grounds. Congress specifically asked for troops to be deployed, but he refused. Despite the advanced warning that violence was expected, the Capital was guarded by just a handful of regular police officers. The forces present are the normal type, the Capital police officers who normally handle things like protesters who chain themselves up outside a Senator’s office. That’s the level of threat they’re used to handling.
The proper way to deal with armed insurrectionists trying to literally overthrow a government is actual troops, real soldiers. And that is what will be used this time. The Capital will be a fortress guarded by thousands of trained service members, with orders to shoot to kill anyone attempting to break in. If MAGA tries anything this time, they’ll be met with automatic weapons fire. In other words, they’ll get the kind of treatment the SHOULD have received on January 6th last time.
Biden being in office and holding command of the military during this time is not something that should be so casually dismissed.
Trump didn’t actively prevent the national guard from being deployed. It’s kind of a convoluted mess as to what happened, and you’re welcome to read through the various analysis of communication breakdowns and bureaucratic hurdles, but all investigations indicate Trump didn’t prevent deployment. He also didn’t, you know, deploy them, which he was authorized to do. So.
