The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FBI, and other law enforcement agencies issued a warning about potential security threats ahead of July 4th festivities in New York and elsewhere in the United States.
They noted that the most significant threat facing Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks came from “lone offenders and small groups of individuals seeking to commit acts of violence.” “These individuals are often motivated by a broad range of racial, ethnic, political, religious, anti-government, societal, or personal grievances,” they added.
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The bulletin specified that the threat was not restricted to New York City, and could also target large gatherings elsewhere. “Special events with high attendance and media coverage… remain attractive targets” for domestic and foreign terrorists and violent extremists who may want to “cause mass casualties or draw attention to their causes,” the bulletin said. They also added that they haven’t been informed of any specific threat targeting the fireworks show or any other gathering. However, high-profile, large events could draw interest from “malicious actors looking for targets of opportunity to perpetrate criminal schemes.”
While such warnings are not unusual before major events, certain high-profile incidents have led to additional concern. “We are concerned about the potential threat of copycat attacks inspired by the 2025 New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans and continued FTO (foreign terrorist organization) messaging calling for attacks against Western targets,” the bulletin said.
This was a reference to a vehicular attack in the French quarter in New Orleans on New Years’ Day, where a 6,000-pound truck plowed into the crowd and killed 14 people. The assailant, a Texas-born Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, was killed in a shootout with police. Investigators later discovered he had recorded several videos before the attack that mentioned his divorce and claimed he had joined ISIS. According to internal memos accessed by CNN, the FBI and DHS warned about the threat of violence from lone offenders and the potential use of vehicle ramming, a month before the massacre.
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The bulletin also warned about threats due to tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. “Most attackers motivated at least in part by the Israel-HAMAS conflict have selected targets with a symbolic link to Israel, houses of worship, or locations associated with houses of worship. Individuals with grievances linked to the conflict could also perceive large gatherings, such as Independence Day celebrations, as opportunistic targets symbolic of the West in general,” the bulletin said.
The FBI and DHS have also mentioned the possibility of drones being used for violence on the occasion. “Unauthorized unmanned aircraft system (UAS) activities may pose a hazard to participants and attendees, delay events, and disrupt law enforcement operations,” they said. “Although we have no credible, specific reporting regarding illicit plans to use UAS to target the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, we assess that unauthorized UAS operations have the potential to increase public safety risks.” The warning added that while most drones were operated legally by hobbyists, there have also been cases of them being used to facilitate “terrorist and other criminal acts.”