DC prepares for Trump's military parade with 18 miles of fencing and 175
magnetometers
[June 10, 2025]
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 250th birthday
of the Army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.
“We’re preparing for an enormous turnout,” said Matt McCool of the
Secret Service's Washington Field office, who said more than 18 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 officials have estimated around 200,000 attendees for the evening
military parade, and McCool said he was prepared for "hundreds of
thousands" of people.
“We have a ton of magnetometers,” he said. “If a million people show up,
then we're going to have some lines.”
A total of 175 magnetometers would be used at security 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 significant event with a large footprint,” she said. “We're
relying on the public to be an extra set of ears and eyes for us.”
The military parade has been designated a National Special Security
Event — similar to a presidential inauguration or state funeral. That
status is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass
protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination
among D.C. officials, the FBI, Capitol Police and Washington’s National
Guard contingent — with the Secret Service taking the lead.
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President Donald Trump speaks during an "Invest in America"
roundtable with business leaders at the White House, Monday, June 9,
2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months.
But earlier this spring, Trump announced his intention to transform
the event — which coincides with his 79th birthday — into a massive
military parade complete with 60-ton M1 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. Officials say they are also on alert for signs that the
immigration-related clashes between law enforcement and protesters
currently roiling Los Angeles would spread.
“We're paying attention, obviously, to what is happening there.
We'll be ready,” McCool said. “We have a robust plan for civil
disobedience.”
Agent Phillip Bates of the FBI's Washington Field office, which is
tasked with counterterrorism and crisis management, said there were
“no credible threats” to the event at the moment.
Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor for public safety, told 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 said the city has grown “very flexible, very nimble”
at rolling with these sort of changes.
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