The last time Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the White House, his security detail was filmed shoving, beating and kicking protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador’s residence. More than a dozen people affiliated with Erdogan were charged with felony and misdemeanor acts of violence.

Activists say they will protest again as Erdogan returns to Washington on Wednesday. Local and federal law enforcement are bracing to prevent a repeat of the bloody events of 2017.

Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, attended the 2017 protests and filmed Turkish security personnel attacking demonstrators. He said he is helping organize the protest.

“There’s a right that has to be protected. That’s the right of Americans to speak freely here in America and not ever feel as though they should be quiet or silenced because of threats and intimidation from a foreign government,” Hamparian said. “The law enforcement authorities are on notice and the world is watching.”

Hamparian said protesters will meet at noon in Lafayette Park. He said they will continue to Sheridan Circle, where they clashed with Turkish security officers two years ago. He said the protest is a coalition of Greek, Kurdish, Assyrian and Christian human rights groups.

A host of local and federal security agencies — including the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Park Police, U.S. Secret Service and State Department — are responsible for safety in the capital.

The Metropolitan Police Department announced it would shut down parts of F Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House to traffic Tuesday through Wednesday.

“MPD, along with our federal partners, have coordinated for the Turkish President’s planned trip, and we plan to take every measure possible to ensure we do not experience conflicts that were seen during his last visit to Washington, D.C.,” wrote Kristen Metzger, a spokeswoman for the police.

Protesters have obtained a permit for a protest in Lafayette Park, according to Sergeant Eduardo Delgado, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police. He estimated that the park could fit about 200 protesters, and he said he had “heard of no special measures” taken to prevent clashes similar to those of two years ago.

The State Department and the U.S. Secret Service declined to answer questions about security arrangements for the visit.

Newly declassified State Department documents reveal that in 2017, Turkish security officials clashed with U.S. law enforcement and each other in addition to protesters.

A witness from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security wrote that problems began the moment the Turkish delegation landed. The agent wrote that the head of the Turkish Presidential Security Detail screamed at other members of the Turkish team. The same agent wrote that a Turkish security officer seized the arm of a man who had been filming the security personnel as they walked along 16th Street. Filming security personnel is legal in Washington, D.C.

In another incident, a witness from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security documented a Turkish security officer “shove a [U.S. Secret Service] agent and strike him with bags he had in his hands.”

Erdogan visits a month after Turkish forces invaded northern Syria following the abrupt departure of U.S. troops. Seventeen Republican and Democratic U.S. Representatives including Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Peter King (R-NY) signed a call for President Trump to rescind the invitation.

“We believe that now is a particularly inappropriate time for President Erdogan to visit the United States,” they wrote.

President Trump has celebrated the visit, writing on Twitter last week, “Look forward to seeing President Erdogan next Wednesday, November 13th.”

This story first appeared on WAMU.