Military parade is coming to DC soon. Officials gave a preview of what to expect
Officials gave a preview of what to expect at the Army's 250th birthday celebration and military parade.
- The parade is to celebrate the 25oth anniversary of the U.S. Army, but it happens to fall on President Trump's 79th birthday.
- While pets and emotional support animals are barred from the June 14 event, service animals are welcome, the Secret Service said.
WASHINGTON − People attending the Army’s 250th birthday celebration and military parade in the nation’s capital have been warned: Everyone is getting scanned, watch out for drones and leave the emotional support animals home.
The event, which will coincide with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people and thousands of federal agents, police officers and other security from across the country, said Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Washington field office.
Hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft, including tanks, will also be on hand for the parade − and so will metal detectors scanning anyone entering the area for weapons, McCool and other officials said at a June 9 news conference.
A pet-unfriendly affair
"One additional note, we'd ask the public, due to the large crowds, noise and the weather forecast, that for their safety, you leave your pets and emotional support animals at home," McCool said. "As always, service animals are welcome."
There is a 50% chance of rain for Saturday, with partly to mostly cloudy weather with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, according to weather.com.
The parade, which will feature Army equipment, flyovers, musical performances and thousands of soldiers in uniforms from the past and the present, caps off a week of events designed to celebrate the country’s military might.
As a precaution, authorities are putting in place 18.5 miles of anti-scale fencing, 17 miles of bike rack concrete barriers and will be flying “multiple” drones overhead to help with surveillance, McCool said.
And while everyone will need to be screened before entering, McCool said 175 magnetometers will be in place to keep things moving.
“If a million people show up,” he said, “there's going to be a line.”
McCool and other federal and local officials said they have no intelligence about any possible terrorist threats or the kind of violent protests now rocking Los Angeles that prompted Trump to call in the National Guard.
"We're not expecting it. We have no intelligence of that happening here," McCool said in reference to protests. "But if it does, we have the resources to handle it."
The National Guard already is being mobilized for the event because it has been designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the Department of Homeland Security – the fifth event in Washington to have such a designation this year, including the presidential inauguration.
The Secret Service is the helm of the multi-agency effort, in close collaboration with the FBI, Capitol Police, D.C. police and city government – and military officials through the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, which is part of U.S. Northern Command.
Tanks with 'new rubber track pads'
By the morning of June 9, construction workers were erecting a stage along Constitution Avenue near the White House. Steel plates have been embedded in the asphalt to protect roads from 140,000-pound tanks.
And the tanks themselves – and other military vehicles – had begun arriving by train.
Col. Jesse Curry of the Army Corps of Engineers, said the military is doing all it can to make sure the tanks don’t chew up DC streets, following complaints by city officials. That includes putting metal plating in areas where tanks have to make turns.
Also, Curry said, padding will be put down in staging areas, and the tanks themselves have been fitted with new rubber track pads.
“This is our capital city as well, so we're committed to ensuring that we minimize any possible damage,” Curry said.
So far, nine groups have registered with the National Park Service for protest permits.
One of them is the National Black Justice Coalition, which is holding an "equity march" that will pass by the Lincoln Memorial and Freedom Plaza between the White House and the U.S. Capitol Building.
Permits have been granted for a "Transgender Unity" march and "Refuse Fascism" protest in Lafayette Park before the parade, according to National Park Service documents shared with Paste BN.
McCool said he doesn’t expect any trouble from protesters based on the information authorities have on hand.
“From a Secret Service perspective, if it's simply people using that First Amendment right to protest then we're not going to do anything with that,” McCool said. “But if that turns violent, or if any laws are broken, that's when (DC police), Park Police, Secret Service will get involved, and that will be handled swiftly.”