DC Election Night: Voters Watch Returns; Police Take Action

WASHINGTON, DC — Election night in D.C. was a display of contrasts.

At McPherson Square, a crowd had gathered to listen to music, dance and watch returns on a large TV.

To the south, the Metropolitan Police Department had cordoned off 14 Street and set up a command center.

One block west, a large group of people had assembled on Black Lives Matter Plaza, just two blocks north of Lafayette Square and the White House beyond.

Jake and Mikaela, two 24-year-olds from D.C., came to the watch party to represent young voters.

"We're out here, trying to make a statement and see what's happening," Mikaela said.

"We're here to make sure that young persons' voices are heard and make sure the president knows that voter suppression is not an acceptable thing and to show the turnout for this historic election," Jake said.

Dean Piedmont of New York came to McPherson Square to view the returns in a presidential race he considers a toss-up.

"The polls, I haven't trusted them for the last four years," he said. "The media leans you in whichever direction you feel like being leaned in. So at this point, I literally think it's like tossing a coin."

Greg Hammond of Hawaii came to the watch party to celebrate or protest, whichever the occasion warranted.

"I'm hopeful for a change in the administration and a flip of the Senate," he said.

James and Savannah Crawford are from Minnesota, but they live in D.C. After watching the election unfold alone in their apartment, the Joe Biden supporters came to McPherson Square to find a sense of resolution.

"Tonight, we wanted to come out and experience something with people who feel like we do," James Crawford said. "If things go well, we want to celebrate with other people. If things go poorly, we don't want to go through that alone."

Savannah Crawford admitted to feeling sick and anxious all day.

"It feels like 2016 all over again, except this time, the mail-in ballots are changing things," she said. "I don't know if we're going to get resolution tonight, and so it makes the anxiety even worse."

Around 9:45 p.m., a single protester carrying a flag had started a disturbance near Black Lives Matter Plaza. MPD bicycle officers moved out en mass from their command center down I Street and encircled the man. Almost at the same moment, crowds mulling around north of the plaza closed in on the police, pointing cell phones and video cameras.

The crowd shouted. The police ordered people back. A helicopter began circling above.

A second wave of MPD officers formed up on I Street before entering the crowd and setting up a perimeter with their bicycles. This allowed the first set of officers to push through and remove the man who caused the disturbance.