Will be met with big force: Trump warns protesters ahead of Army parade

President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a stern warning to anyone planning to protest during the upcoming military parade on June 14, marking the US Army’s 250th anniversary in Washington.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump told reporters during unscheduled remarks in the Oval Office. The president emphasized that Saturday’s parade is intended to be a patriotic celebration and suggested that dissenters would be treated as hostile actors.

The large-scale event, scheduled to take place on the National Mall and through the streets of Washington, also coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday. It will feature a military parade, an Army birthday festival, and a special enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony overseen by the president himself.

Law enforcement officials are preparing for what could be a massive turnout. According to US Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool, “thousands of agents, officers and specialists” from federal, state, and local agencies will be deployed. McCool added that “at least nine permits have been issued for protests” on that day, although the FBI and Metropolitan Police have found no credible threats so far.

One group organizing nationwide protests is called No Kings, which has openly criticized the administration’s policies. “They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services,” the group states on its website. “The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”

Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his support for a strong military presence in response to public unrest, including his controversial decision to send 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. The deployment followed protests triggered by immigration raids targeting workplaces.

“We’re going to celebrate big on Saturday,” Trump declared, before doubling down on his warning to demonstrators. “If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force.”

“This is people that hate our country,” he continued. “They will be met with heavy force.”

TRUMP SAYS OPEN TO INVOKING INSURRECTION ACT

During an Oval Office exchange with reporters, Trump signaled he may consider invoking the Insurrection Act: one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a president, in response to ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles. The Act allows the deployment of military forces within the United States to suppress rebellion, domestic unrest, or enforce federal law in specific situations.

Highlighting the scale of Saturday’s planned celebration, Trump added, “It’s going to be a parade, the likes of which I don’t know if we’ve ever had a parade like that. It’s going to be incredible.” He also touted the spectacle of military equipment, old and new, on display: “We have many tanks. We have all sorts of new ones and very old ones old from World War I and World War II,” Trump was quoted as saying by ABC News.

“We have a lot of those army airplanes flying over the top, and we have tanks all over the place,” the president said, suggesting the event would rival global military parades in grandeur and patriotic spirit.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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