Walls of new fencing are being erected around the White House, pushing demonstrators even farther back from the historic mansion. New chainlink fence and concrete barriers now have pushed back hundreds of feet anyone who wants to see ‘the people’s house.’ The New York Times writes:
“Every day, more fences go up and more concrete barriers are put in place as the security perimeter expands farther and farther. The universally recognized symbol of American democracy increasingly looks like a fortress under siege in the heart of the nation’s capital, a Washington version of the Green Zone that sheltered American and Iraqi officials in Baghdad during the worst of the war.“
Trump aides tell the Times that additional security measures were not ordered by Donald Trump but the Secret Service. Some of the fencing is scheduled to be removed later this month. According to the Times, hundreds of thousands of protesters could descend on the area around the White House on Saturday.
“Plenty of critics and commentators compared the additional barriers around the White House to the wall he is building along the nation’s southern border, a small-scale manifestation of his desire to wall off outsiders. In this case, the outsiders are not foreigners but fellow Americans.“