President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday with using the “heavy force” against “any” protester in the military parade held in Washington this weekend.
“We are going to celebrate Big on Saturday,” Trump told reporters in the Oval office just after he talked about sending the National Guard and Los Marines to Los Angeles to quell the protests there. “If any protester wants to go out, they will find great force.”
The parade to honor the 250th anniversary of the army also falls on the 79th birthday of the president and occurs a few days after Trump ordered the troops to the angels that respond to protests against the immigration and compliance of customs of the United States.
“People who want to protest will find great strength,” he said, and said he had not yet heard of any plan to protest in the military parade in Washington. “But these are people who hate our country. They will be heavy force.”
The military vehicles of the US Army. UU. They are discharged from transport trucks near the National Shopping Center in preparation for the 250th anniversary parade of the Army, on June 10, 2025, in Washington, DC, DC
Andrew Leyden/Zuma Press Wire through Shuttersock
ABC News contacted the White House to comment on what kind of strength Trump referred to in his comments on Tuesday.
Trump has promoted the size and anticipated show of the military parade, saying on Monday: “We have many tanks. We have all kinds of new and very old world war and World War II”, and that military roles and the United States in the victories in the First World War and World War II need to be celebrated as other countries with their military.
“It will be a parade, as I do not know if we have ever had a parade like that. It will be incredible,” he said, and added that “thousands and thousands of soldiers” will march through the streets with military attire from several eras of the US military. “We have many of those army planes flying on the top, and we have tanks everywhere.”
President Donald Trump talks to journalists at the Oval Office of the White House, June 10, 2025, in Washington.
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Twenty -eight Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley fighting vehicles, 28 Stryker vehicles and four marks of self -propelled Paladin will participate in the parade, as well as eight music bands, 24 horses, two mules and a dog.
Fifty planes will also fly above.
Last month, the army spokesman Steve Warren told journalists that the service welcomes peaceful protests, noting that his motto is “this we will defend”, a reference to the commitment of the service to defend democratic values. On Tuesday, Warren confirmed ABC News to support his May comments.
“We are not controlling crowds,” Warren said.
The US Army vehicles. UU. They are discharged near the National Shopping Center in preparation for the 250th anniversary parade of the Army, which President Trump and more than 7,000 soldiers of the United States Army will attend.
Andrew Leyden/Nurphoto through Shuttersock
An US Army Tank is organized in West Potomac Park in front of the 250th Anniversary Parade of the US Army., On June 10, 2025, in Washington, DC
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The United States Secret Service and Washington officials said Monday that they were tracking nine little protests, but did not expect any violence.
“From a secret service perspective, it is simply people who use that right of the first amendment to protest because we are not going to do anything with that,” said Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office of the Secret Service. “But if that becomes violent or a law is broken, it is when [the Metropolitan Police Department]Park police, secret service will be involved. “
Members of the California National Guard Guard in front of the Federal Building of Edward R. Roybal in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
Even so, the National Guard, including the National Guard of the Columbia district and those of other states, will be activated but not armed.
Out of Washington, the progressive groups plan to maintain protests against the Trump administration as the parade occurs, with the Badge protest “No Reyes” happening in Philadelphia.
Anne Flaherty and Beatrice Peterson of ABC News contributed to this report.
