With Washington DC preparing to host massive crowds for America’s 250th birthday, the head of the group coordinating the commemorations says security teams are operating at full tilt to reassure an anxious public.
“We have really pulled out all the stops,” said Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250.
“We’re working with the local police, secret service, diplomatic security, you name it. That’s under control.”
In an interview with RTÉ News, Mr Krach said he understood why some people might feel uneasy after the FBI said it had disrupted an alleged plan to attack a UFC event held at the White House over the weekend.
According to the agency, anti-government conspiracy theorists were preparing a drone attack and then intended to shoot attendees as they tried to escape. Five people were arrested.
Mr Krach, however, sought to offer reassurance.
“We’ve put all our effort into this and it’s going to be safe,” he said.
Appointed by the Trump administration, Mr Krach is overseeing the nationwide programme marking the United States’ 250th birthday.
Officials expect around 100,000 people to descend on Washington DC in the coming weeks for large-scale gatherings on the National Mall, including 4th of July celebrations and an event billed as the Great American Fair.
Authorities have rolled out sweeping precautions, including a 24-hour no fly zone over the area, and have deployed thousands of national guards.
Mr Krach said preparations are going “fantastic” for the 4,000 events planned.
Earlier, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against five men over the alleged plot to attack the White House at the UFC event last Sunday.
Prosecutors said the plan involved flying drones equipped with explosives over the venue to trigger an evacuation, after which snipers would fire on “high value targets” in the crowd as people fled.
One of those arrested, according to a criminal complaint, was Tycen Proper, 19, who was taken into custody on 10 June in Ohio after his mother contacted police to report he had been communicating online with an extremist group.
The DOJ said Mr Proper “allegedly amassed firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and tactical gear at his home in Ohio, and he identified potential targets, including multiple members of Congress.”
Mr Trump on Sunday joined thousands of fans at the White House fights, where a temporary arena dubbed “The Claw” was erected on the South Lawn.
Thousands of people attended the event on the South Lawn of the White House
Donald Trump attended the event marking 250 years of US independence
The White House is protected by intense surveillance, fencing, checkpoints, anti-air-attack capabilities, snipers and a permanent group of quick-reaction forces.
“In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said on X.
The “UFC Freedom 250” event – which coincided with Mr Trump’s 80th birthday – was intended to launch this year’s observances for the 250th anniversary of the declaration of US independence.
Mr Trump has faced several assassination attempts in recent years, most recently when a gunman attempted to storm a White House press gala he was attending in April.
US Vice President JD Vance, who also attended the UFC evening, said yesterday morning on Fox News that he had only just learned of the alleged plot.
Pressed on why the FBI chose to publicise the disrupted plan – a step it does not always take, citing security considerations – Mr Vance pointed to the potential “scale of the planned attack”.
He called it a “coordinated planned terrorist plot” and referenced the Trump administration’s efforts to investigate funding and coordination networks of radical left-wing groups.
Mr Vance did not give further information about what he said drove the suspects, but he nonetheless accused Democrats of stoking violence through anti-Trump rhetoric.
“Everybody has a role to cut this stuff out, but I think a lot of my Democratic colleagues in Washington have got to look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘why is so much of this political violence coming from our side of the spectrum?'” he said.
The White House has repeatedly argued that Trump critics and the media are fuelling a rise in political tension across the country.
Opponents of Mr Trump say the Republican president’s often inflammatory rhetoric against opponents, immigrants and the election system are to blame.
