As World Pride flows straight into the military parade, DC officials say they're ready for anything
Officials in the nation's capital generally express full confidence in their ability to handle large, complicated events and huge crowds. As Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith recently put it, 'We are really the experts in this space when it comes to crowd management.'
Over the next eight days. in the sprawling city that is the nation's capital, that expertise will be put to the test.
The District of Columbia is playing host to massive events on back-to-back weekends. Two wildly divergent events each carry the extra possibility of counterprotests or disruption, adding a layer of anxiety to the usual logistical hassles.
June 7 and 8 brings the peak of the two-week World Pride celebration with two days of mass gatherings — a parade on Saturday and a rally and protest March Sunday. Both days culminate in a giant street party and concert covering a multi-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Then as cleanup from World Pride wraps up, preparations will begin for the much-hyped June 14 military parade to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army (and the 79th birthday of a certain White House resident).
And while D.C. officials can claim they have seen it all before in terms of mass events, June 14 will present some genuinely unique challenges — actual 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets.
The cost of potential repairs is a concern
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has gone out of her way to stay on the good side of President Donald Trump, has not disguised her discomfort at the prospect of armored vehicles chewing up the downtown asphalt. And she is still openly leery, despite assurances from the military that it will cover the costs of all repairs, and a plan to install protective plates at intersections.
'I think that there has been time and attention paid to how to move this heavy equipment in a way that doesn't hurt (roads),' Bowser said last week. "I remain concerned about it. If they are rendered unusable, we have to make them usable and then go seek our money from the feds.'
For each of these high-profile weekends, police and security officials are on alert for any sort of counterprotest or attempts to disrupt the proceedings. Trump's campaign against transgender protections and oft-stated antipathy for drag shows have fueled fears of violence against World Pride participants; at one point earlier this spring, rumors circulated that the Proud Boys were planning to disrupt this weekend's celebrations.
Those fears have proven to be unfounded so far, although one D.C. queer bar was vandalized last week. With those fears in mind, organizers will install security fencing around the entire two-day street party.
'We wanted to provide some extra safety measures (based on) concerns from some people in the community,' said Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance.
The bi-annual World Pride has, in the past, drawn as many as 1 million visitors to its host city. It remains to be seen just how large the final influx will be for the nation's capital. Early hotel reservation numbers had indicated that attendance would be down somewhat, a possible result of international participants staying away out of either fear of harassment or in protest of Trump's policies.
But Elliott Ferguson, president of Destination D.C. — which tracks hotel reservations — told reporters last week they were witnessing 'a surge at the last minute' of people coming in for the final World Pride weekend.
Protests planned for military parade
The military parade, meanwhile, is expected to draw as many as 200,000 people, according to Army estimates. A large counterprotest against Trump — dubbed the No Kings rally — will march down 16th Street to within sight of the White House but isn't expected to get close enough to the military parade to disrupt things.
Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor for public safety, acknowledges that longstanding plans for the Army's 250th birthday 'got a lot bigger on short notice' when Trump got involved.
'You have to be very flexible, very nimble. Things change and you have plans and then those plans change," she said. "I think we've really learned to do that.'
Appiah points out an example of the District's capabilities from early this year, when the city hosted the congressional certification of Trump's electoral win, the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter and then Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 — all in the span of two weeks and in the midst of a huge winter storm.
D.C. officials also point out that the logistical challenge facing the capital city doesn't actually end on June 14. The military parade will be followed by three matches for the FIFA Club World Cup starting on June 18 and running through June 26, which will then roll straight into preparations for the traditional July 4 fireworks extravaganza.
Clint Osborn, head of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the summer planning schedule "feels like Super Bowl after Super Bowl after Super Bowl.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
President of California's largest union arrested while observing ICE raids in LA
Labor leader David Huerta was detained while observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids taking place in Los Angeles. The Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) says that its president was injured during the ICE raids and is calling for his release, NBC4 Los Angeles reports. 'SEIU California members call for the immediate release of our President, David Huerta, who was injured and detained at the site of one of today's ICE raids in Los Angeles. He is now receiving medical attention while in custody,' Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California, said. Mayor Karen Bass told NBC4 that Huerta had been pepper-sprayed during the incident. "He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated," Bass said. "He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon." The mayor said she does not know why Huerta is being detained. The SEIU issued a statement supporting Huerta, insisting that he was "exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity." 'We are proud of President Huerta's righteous participation as a community observer, in keeping with his long history of advocating for immigrant workers and with the highest values of our movement: standing up to injustice, regardless of personal risk or the power of those perpetrating it," the union said. Orr also condemned the ICE raids. 'We call for an end to the cruel, destructive, and indiscriminate ICE raids that are tearing apart our communities, disrupting our economy, and hurting all working people. Immigrant workers are essential to our society: feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes,' she said. Bass said she is going to meet with immigrant support groups to discuss plans for responding to situations like the mass ICE raids in the future. "My message to them is that we are going to fight for all Angelenos regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not," she said. "We are a city of immigrants, and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos." ICE arrested approximately 44 people in Friday's raid, according to Homeland Security Investigations. 'Today, ICE officers and agents alongside partner law enforcement agencies, executed four federal search warrants at three location in central Los Angeles. Approximately 44 people were administratively arrested and one arrest for obstruction. The investigation remains ongoing, updates will follow as appropriate," HSI spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe said in a statement.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Fed's Musalem estimates ‘50-50' chances on tariffs triggering prolonged US inflation, FT reports
June 6 (Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem has put the likelihood of Donald Trump's trade war causing a prolonged surge in inflation at "50-50," warning that U.S. policymakers would face uncertainty "right through the summer," the Financial Times reported on Friday. Musalem told the newspaper that while U.S. President Trump's tariffs could boost inflation for "a quarter or two," there was "an equally likely scenario where the impact of tariffs on prices could last longer." Trump's tariff hikes and a $2.4 trillion budget bill have shaken markets, prompting a wait-and-see stance from the Fed after last year's rate cuts. Musalem said he believes officials could benefit from a favorable scenario where uncertainty over trade and fiscal policy "goes away in July," which would put the Fed back on track to cut interest rates in September, according to the FT. He also highlighted, however, the possibility of a scenario "where inflation begins to rise materially and we will not know whether that is a temporary, one-off increase in the price level or whether it has more persistence," the report said. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its mid-June meeting, when it will release updated economic projections.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Chaos breaks out as ICE raids business in downtown Los Angeles and locals revolt: 'We will not stand for this'
Federal immigration officials clashed with protesters as they raided several downtown Los Angeles locations on Friday. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were spotted at a Home Depot, an apartment complex, federal courts and even in the fashion district. The raids come just days after Donald Trump 's watch dog Stephen Miller demanded ICE crackdown on migrants at popular shopping destinations to bolster their arrest numbers. Crowds of protesters swarmed the officers on Friday in an attempt to stop the detentions, reported KTLA. However, there efforts were unsuccessful and at least 45 people across seven locations were detained, according to Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Executive Director Angelica Salas. One of those detainees has been identified as Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta, who was pepper-sprayed and injured while being taken into custody, Mayor Karen Bass told NBC Los Angeles. 'He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated,' said Bass. 'He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon.' Footage from local news station KABC showed officers throwing smoke bombs or flash bangs on the street to disperse the people so they could drive away in SUVs, vans and military-style vehicles. In one video, a person was seen running backward with their hands on the hood of a moving white SUV in an effort to block the vehicle. The person fell backward, landing flat on the ground. The SUV backed up, drove around the individual and sped off as others on the street threw objects at it. Other video showed people being handcuffed by federal authorities in a Home Depot parking lot. At one of the spots, immigrant-rights advocates used megaphones to speak to the workers inside a store, reminding them of their constitutional rights and instructing them not to sign anything or say anything to federal agents, the Los Angeles Times reported. The advocates also told the federal agents that lawyers wanted access to the workers, and sometimes yelled out specific names. Mayor Bass said neither her nor the Los Angeles Police Department were warned about the activity. 'As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,' Bass said. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this. Police Chief Jim McDonnell released a statement claiming the department is not involved in 'civil immigration enforcement.' 'We will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual's immigration status,' McDonnell said. 'I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there for you without regard to one's immigration status.' The Los Angeles raids come as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly demanded ICE agents raid Home Depots and 7-Elevens as part of his lofty new target for arrests of illegal migrants. Miller, one of Donald Trump's biggest hawks on immigration, said last week that Trump wants the agency to conduct 3,000 arrests every single day in an ambitious effort to ramp up his deportation agenda. He and 'border czar' Tom Homan have both suggested that the numbers are not currently where they want them. Homan backed the ambitious new benchmark on Thursday morning, insisting: 'We've gotta' increase these arrests and removals.' 'The numbers are good, but I'm not satisfied. I haven't been satisfied all year long.' During Trump's first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants.
