Washington July 4 celebration gets highest security designation
Washington’s July Fourth fireworks became a National Special Security Event, triggering Secret Service control, checkpoint screening and a sweeping multiagency security net.
Washington’s National Mall July Fourth celebration was designated a National Special Security Event, the highest federal security rating, putting the U.S. Secret Service in charge of planning and coordination. This is the first time the Mall’s Independence Day celebration has received that status.
The fireworks show is being folded into America 250, the semiquincentennial commemoration of the nation’s 250th birthday, and the crowd is expected to be large enough to require a broad interagency posture. The main viewing area is planned at the base of the Washington Monument, with access funneled through checkpoints near 14th Street between Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue. Chairs, coolers, balls and Frisbees are among the items prohibited, and many areas that once held blankets and lawn chairs were being taken over by event infrastructure.
Security planning involved the FBI, Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police, the D.C. National Guard and FEMA. People should expect road closures, wide security perimeters, a larger law-enforcement presence across the National Mall and a no-fly zone overhead. The FBI planned to deploy a nuclear-detecting plane.
“This designation allows us to take a whole-of-government approach to securing the event,” Tara McLeese, the Secret Service special agent in charge, said. D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the city was preparing for mutual aid, including the D.C. National Guard if needed, while Freedom 250 is adding cooling resources, water stations and medical support because of the extreme heat.
Officials expect hundreds of thousands of people to pack downtown for America 250 events. Reagan National Airport flights will be suspended from noon on July 4 until the next day because of the celebrations.
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