Was a military-like zone with fences set up last minute where President Joe Biden was scheduled to give his press conference on July 11, 2024? No, that's not true: A video on social media shows fences around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center that were previously set up for security for the 2024 NATO Summit. The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. earlier released a statement saying the area around the convention center would be closed off for that from July 6, 2024, to July 12, 2024. The fencing was not set up on July 11, 2024, just before Biden's press conference, which also occurred at the Washington Convention Center.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 11, 2024. It said:
🚨DEVELOPING: A Military-Like Zone Has Been Set Up Where Joe Biden is Scheduled To Give His Now Delayed Press Conference!
SOMETHING BIG IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN⚠️
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Jul 12 17:01:31 2024 UTC)
The fencing around the Walter E. Washington convention center was for the NATO Summit, (archived here) held in Washington, D.C., from July 9 to 11, 2024. The restrictions began on July 6, 2024, according to a press release from the U.S. capital's Metropolitan Police Department (archived here):
From Saturday, July 6, 2024, through Friday, July 12, 2024, there will be numerous impacts to vehicular traffic, pedestrians, and public transportation in the area of the Washington Convention Center, Mellon Auditorium, and The White House. Please plan accordingly and expect delays throughout the week. The following maps provide a visual representation of the areas that are closed. Larger, printeable PDFs are available via links at the bottom of this page.
This map shows the security plan around the Washington Convention Center (archived here):
(Source: Metropolitan Police Department website screenshot taken on Fri Jul 12 17:11:15 2024 UTC)
A post on reporter Andrew Leyden's X account (archived here) showed fencing going up for the NATO summit on July 8, 2024:
NATO Summit preparations around Washington DC as flags, banners and security fences go into place. pic.twitter.com/tenoLrFKxd
-- Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) July 8, 2024
That same day, Fox 5 DC reporter Stephanie Ramirez posted video on her X account (archived here) that showed "anti scale fencing" at the Washington Convention Center in preparation for the NATO Summit:
#NOW Here's a look at the Convention Center & anti scale fencing already in place this morning near 7th and New York Ave NW ! @NATO Summit is this week. @fox5dc's making sure you have what you need before heading out!
-- Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) July 8, 2024
Expect traffic!
CLOSURE MAPS: https://t.co/oVgEcN8y9l pic.twitter.com/iIuroKBVBR
She also posted an image of signs posted that showed closures would begin on July 9, 2024 (archived here):
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Jul 12 17:15:44 2024 UTC)
Video of Biden's July 11, 2024, press conference at the Washington Conference Center can be found on the White House's YouTube account (archived here).
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Joe Biden can be found here.
