SWAT Teams And Boarded Up Windows: Beverly Hills Prepares

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Businesses along Rodeo Drive and the Business Triangle were seen boarding up their windows Friday morning in anticipation of possible election violence and unrest, and Beverly Hills police are on high alert.

The Beverly Hills Police Department announced earlier this week that they are closing down Rodeo Drive to cars and pedestrians, from South Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard, from Monday at 11:59 p.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. There will be no access to Rodeo from Brighton or Dayton ways.

"As Election Day approaches and with the potential of increased demonstration and protect activity across the region, the city is taking a proactive approach to ensure a safe community for residents, businesses and visitors," Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti said in a message to the community earlier this week. "Beginning on Halloween and through election week, the Beverly Hills Police Department will be on full alert throughout the residential and business districts. Additionally, other law enforcement personnel and private security companies will offer support. Some businesses in the city may choose to limit operations during this time."

The department, which was granted $4.8 million to hire an additional 80 security personnel, will begin enhanced security Saturday, when Halloween and likely protests will present additional security challenges. Starting Saturday, every officer will work alternating 12-hour shifts, and no one will receive any days off.

Halloween will likely be tense in the city this year. Trick-or-treating, as well as car-to-car "trunk-or-treating" and providing candy to anyone outside of one's household, are all banned this year as a COVID-protectionary urgency ordinance. From 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 31, a number of streets near the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards will also be closed.

“While I know this is disappointing news, especially to our children, we believe this is the responsible approach to protect the health of the community,” Mayor Lester Friedman said after the City Council passed an urgency ordinance earlier this month.

Despite the closures, the city is likely to see another protest Saturday. Almost every weekend since the summer, pro-Trump demonstrations and smaller counter-demonstrations have gathered in the area around City Hall and the Business Triangle. On Oct. 24, an estimated 2500 protesters marched through Beverly Drive, Wilshire Boulevard, and onto Rodeo Drive, according to Lt. Max Subin of the Beverly Hills Police Department.

At the Saturday protest, Twitter footage shows a man wielding a sword and threatening passersby to vote for Trump. A now-deleted viral TikTok video shows the man telling a woman driving by to "vote for Trump whether you like it or not" and photographing license plates.

Saturday's protest was also notable for the arrest of rapper Cardi B's cousin Marcelo Almanzar and the brief detention of her husband, rapper Offset of the hip hop trio Migos. Almanzar was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and a loaded firearm in public, while Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was briefly detained on suspicion of pointing a weapon at someone.