DC prepares for Trump’s military parade with 18 miles of fencing and 175 magnetometers

BY ASHRAF KHALIL WASHINGTON AP As the nation s capital cleans up from the culmination of World Pride this past weekend focus now shifts to a very different massive event Saturday s military parade to honor the th birthday of the Army and the th birthday of President Donald Trump Related Articles Colorado states sue ATF over deal ending ban on triggers that can make rifles fire more rapidly Certain visitors record extra scrutiny at US airports as Trump s new passage ban begins What to know about Trump s deployment of National Guard troops to LA immigration protests Trump says Elon Musk could face serious consequences if he backs Democratic candidates US Chinese agents to meet in London next week for new round of transaction talks We re preparing for an enormous turnout mentioned Matt McCool of the Secret Facility s Washington Field office who explained more than miles of anti-scale fencing would be erected and multiple drones would be in the air The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones Army administrators have estimated around attendees for the evening military parade and McCool explained he was prepared for hundreds of thousands of people We have a ton of magnetometers he stated If a million people show up then we re going to have specific lines A total of magnetometers would be used at precaution checkpoints controlling access to the daytime birthday festival and the nighttime parade Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith predicted major impacts to traffic and advised attendees to arrive early and consider forgoing cars for the Metro This is a considerable event with a large footprint she declared We re relying on the residents to be an extra set of ears and eyes for us The military parade has been designated a National Special Safeguard Event similar to a presidential inauguration or state funeral That status is reserved for events that draw large crowds and promising mass protests It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination among D C bureaucrats the FBI Capitol Police and Washington s National Guard contingent with the Secret System taking the lead The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months But earlier this spring Trump informed his intention to transform the event which coincides with his th birthday into a massive military parade complete with -ton M Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets Multiple counter-protests of varying sizes are planned for Saturday with the largest being a mass march to the White House dubbed the No Kings rally Agents say they are also on alert for signs that the immigration-related clashes between law enforcement and protesters at the moment roiling Los Angeles would spread We re paying attention obviously to what is happening there We ll be ready McCool commented We have a robust plan for civil disobedience Agent Phillip Bates of the FBI s Washington Field office which is tasked with counterterrorism and predicament management disclosed there were no credible threats to the event at the moment Lindsey Appiah the deputy mayor for masses safety reported The Associated Press last week that the city had longstanding plans for the Army birthday celebration But those plans got a lot bigger on short notice when Trump got involved Still Appiah announced the city has grown very flexible very nimble at rolling with these sort of changes For more details including road closures and guard restrictions go to www nsse dc gov