Immigration protests shadow Trump’s $45M military parade through Washington, DC

Thousands of people amassed in major U.S. cities this week to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles – injecting fresh uncertainty in the nation’s capital and beyond just days before Washington, D.C., hosts a massive, first-of-its-kind military parade. 

It is unclear what, if any, major demonstrations protesters are planning in coordination with Saturday’s military parade; a $45 million event running through the city’s downtown which will feature hundreds of military vehicles, including armored troop carriers, tanks and Chinook helicopters, winding through the city’s roads and skies in celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.

It also happens to be Trump’s 79th birthday. 

However, the show of force and military grandeur takes place at a time when a wave of immigration protests in California – and Trump’s attempts to quash the unrest by deploying thousands of U.S. troops to the state – have changed the national mood from tense to combustible, prompting a new wave of demonstrations and clashes with law enforcement in major cities across the U.S.

Combined, the escalating skirmishes have also raised the specter of possible disruption during the patriotic parade, though officials stressed this week that they are closely monitoring the event and security in the surrounding area.  

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An immigration protest in Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon was notably tame. However, the crowd was massive, drawing hundreds of protesters to the city’s downtown area. Other demonstrations are slated to take place in the Washington, D.C.-area throughout the week, including a planned demonstration in the nearby Columbia Heights neighborhood. 

U.S. Park Police told reporters this week that they are tracking nine planned protests in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. 

Trump, for his part, attempted to get ahead of any protests that could snarl the planned display of military might, warning that any demonstrators that attempted to disrupt the event “will be met with very heavy force.”

“I haven’t even heard about a protest, but [there are] people that hate our country,” he told reporters Tuesday afternoon.