Federal agents working for President Donald Trump’s D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force have been instructed to stay away from polling places — a directive issued after at least two sightings of National Guard troops and other federal agents near places where Washingtonians vote.
The instruction was disclosed as part of a group of lawsuits against the federal government over alleged plans to dispatch ICE agents to polling sites. Catherine Malycke, an attorney for the government, sent the plaintiffs’ attorneys a statement from the FBI after they asked the government to explain social media videos showing National Guard troops and FBI agents near a polling place in the District.
According to Malycke, after the FBI learned over the weekend that agents “may have been observed near an active polling location,” the agency directed all employees stationed in D.C. to avoid polling locations.
“Agent personnel were advised that the only exception to that prohibition is if there is an active shooter at a particular polling location,” said the statement from the FBI, according to Malycke’s email. The FBI assured the plaintiffs that any agents seen near a polling place were not there for an investigation, but were rather on a roving foot patrol of the neighborhood as part of the Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
Trending
The statement from the FBI is the second time in recent weeks that federal officials have taken steps to allay concerns about federal presence at polling locations. After a group of National Guard troops were spotted standing next to a D.C. ballot drop box in October, the joint task force in charge of the D.C. deployment reaffirmed that the troops had been directed not to monitor polling sites.
The assurance comes during an election season where advocacy groups and residents have been on edge about potential election interference. Some local activist groups have dispatched observers to polling places to document irregularities, The Washington Sun has previously reported. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has also issued guidance to residents, advising them of federal laws that prohibit armed federal law enforcement from going to polling places. And local poll workers have been trained on the law and told to report any inappropriate law enforcement presence, according to D.C.’s Board of Elections.
Trump administration officials have in recent months dismissed concerns about federal agents at polling sites as fear mongering.
But plaintiffs in ongoing lawsuits over federal law enforcement at polling sites, which include the NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens, are still seeking further assurance from the federal government that ICE agents will not be dispatched to polling places.
During a court hearing Monday morning, attorneys for the federal government argued that issuing such a declaration would be outside the limited scope of what the judge in the case had ordered. The judge, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, said she was sympathetic to that position but hoped the parties could reach an understanding before Election Day.
Author
