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Thousands of fight fans are expected to gather in Washington DC this weekend as a UFC event is due to take place on the White House grounds.
The anticipated event has drawn national attention, with President Donald Trump announcing his plans to host the UFC Freedom 250 celebrations on Sunday (June 14).
However, it seems that the Secret Service have been making their own preparations to plan for all scenarios.
This comes after the news broke that the federal agency has deployed an advanced drone shield over the White House.
The UFC Octagon has been installed on the South Lawn of the White House, where roughly 4,000 invited guests are expected to attend, with a much larger audience watching from The Ellipse, which is the public park situated just outside the White House complex.
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Speaking about the installation of the UFC cage just outside the White House, Trump told reporters: “We’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people.
“Really, it’s going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at it and maybe we’ll never ever take it down.”
Officials have classified Freedom 250 as a high-level security event, placing it in the same category as major American gatherings such as the Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby.
One of the biggest concerns for security teams is unauthorized drone activity. Flying private drones in the airspace above the US capital is already heavily restricted, and authorities are warning visitors not to bring them to the event.
To maintain surveillance and situational awareness, law enforcement agencies will deploy their own drones throughout the weekend.
At the same time, specialized technology will be monitoring the skies for any unauthorized aircraft that could pose a security risk.
Speaking to ABC News, Tara McLeese, who is the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, said: “We will have law enforcement drones for overwatch, but just to make it simple for the public, if they see a drone, we want them to report that.”
She shared how in the years gone by, you ‘could just walk up and put a lawn chair and a blanket out’ but ‘that will be different this year’.
McLeese continued: “You won’t be able to just show up. There will be specific places, designated places to go through security before you can get on the Mall.”
She added: “I can tell you that our workforce is training every day, that we are hyper-focused on ensuring that we are ready to respond to any type of threat or attack that comes our way.”
