Thread by @juliettekayyem

THREAD: Today is activation day in public safety for Election Day. None of this is normal; most of it planned for. All good (enuf) so far. An incident does not make a war. Below thread I explained last week. Here is what you should expect for this one. 1/

https://twitter.com/juliettekayyem/status/1320439885422100483

Activations have stated of all major emergency operations centers, fusion centers and National Guard (if not done already). All that means is that we are prepositioning folks, no leave allowed, begin public presence, and get ready to ratchet up. 2/

Intel is not screaming trouble leading up to 11/3, Trump's language not particularly different than usual crap. Interesting silence in many areas which is good (some intel from white supremacist groups suggests they are standing down due to public safety positioning) 3/

Most of these activations are recommended to be 5 days; if you do too short then extend them, it can get tricky administratively. We can always close them out early, so don't think much that they go through week. 4/

I suspect another 8-10 National Guard activations by Tuesday am but honestly a lot more quiet than anticipated over weekend. We focus on Trump and some troublesome incidents, but from the perspective of a free time, a crazed Trump and divided nation, it was a good Sunday.5/

That areas are being prepared for mass arrests is not a reflection of the threat. We are in a pandemic; it is tricky and we need to protect everyone. Should there be peaceful protests even, but with arrests, COVID is still a threat so safety footprint is bigger than normal. 6/

Anyway, 5 days. No evidence I'm hearing from people on ground -- despite concerns otherwise -- of secret federal presence waiting to lurch. But folks worried, I get it. Every major city is likely activated by 10 pm tonight, with focus on 10pm forward tomorrow night. 7/

Lots of consistency across parties and country. We can focus on outliers, but most police presence will be well outside voting areas, military presence only there to support if they need surge capacity, and most areas speak well of local federal coordination. 8/

That's what I know. Been working with cities/states on planning since late summer. I hope this doesn't stress people out. I get it. None of this is normal, but most of it planned for.
Now #vote and lets pay unnecessary police overtime! 9/9