The administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser has sent out a notice asking D.C. businesses to remove the plywood.
It’s no longer necessary to board up businesses, the administration says, because there is no longer a “credible threat” of post-election violence. Now that Joe Biden seems headed for the White House, the riots are over.
The District is even telling businesses which recycling station is set up to receive the plywood. The plywood-fronted city was always an ominous sign that, if the vote did not go their way, the street had plans.
This offers more than credible evidence that the rioters saw themselves and were seen by sympathetic politicians as an integral part of the campaign effort. Now that Joe Biden seems headed for the White House, the riots are no longer useful.
The Free Beacon characterizes our return to normalcy:
City officials also maintained that businesses should not be fearful of any riots or protests during election week—despite planned demonstrations. Local anti-police activist group #ShutDownDC planned to gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza, target Trump campaign officials, White House staffers, and Republican lawmakers, and, based on the vote count, block roads, highways, and intersections leading into the city.
I will be glad to return to a normal looking environment. However, there are two things to recognize about these mobs: 1.) The mobs were always an indication that, despite misleading polling data, people, deep down, knew that President Trump had a good chance of winning, 2.) Having tasted unprecedented success, with tacit support of many mainstream politicians, the mob can return at any time. It is part of our political landscape.