OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:46 PM – Friday, November 22, 2024
Authorities are exercising extreme caution in relation to the upcoming 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, assessing both foreign and domestic threats, according to a joint threat assessment obtained by ABC News.
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The assessment, which was investigated by the FBI and the New York Police Department, revealed that the threats “stems from lone offenders and small groups of individuals seeking to commit acts of violence.”
“Though the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade event will provide a broad set of potential soft targets for an attack, congested areas where the largest amount of people gather – particularly designated viewing areas – are likely the most vulnerable spots for a mass casualty attack,” the assessment read.
The assessment continues, adding that there currently is not a “specific actionable threat.” However, it also reveals that authorities are concerned with “vehicle ramming” around the crowded parade, which “has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors.”
In response, the NYPD plans to deploy “blocker vehicles” like sanitation trucks and other large roadblocks along the entry points of the parade, in order to prevent any potential “bad actors” from penetrating the barricades.
Last year’s parade saw Pro-Palestine protesters attempt to disrupt the parade by glueing their hands to the ground along the parade route, prompting officials to “remain concerned that malicious actors may seek to engage in public safety disruptions, including attempting to block ingress and egress paths and roadways around the event and major transportation locations.”
The upcoming parade is expected to draw in around two million spectators and it begins on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, continuing on a 2 ½-mile long route.
The parade is also set to feature 17 character balloons, including Minnie Mouse and Spider-Man, 22 floats, 11 marching bands, and 10 performance groups.
This year, the new floats includes: Candy Cosmos by Haribo, Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest by Nickelodeon, Magic Meets the Seas by Disney Cruise Line, Wednesday’s Feast by Netflix, Pasta Knight by Rao’s Homemade, Strikes Again by Go Bowling!, and Wonderous World of Wildlife by the Bronx Zoo.
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