Boston ramps up security for St. Patrick’s Day Parade as 1 million expected to line route amid Iran war
Boston city officials say the city has ramped up its security measures for the famed St Patrick’s Day parade, which is expected to draw 1 million spectators amid the Iran War nd an alleged terror attack in New York City.
The parade’s route had already been “flip-flopped” this year to mark the country’s 250th anniversary and Mayor Michelle Wu says there’s no credible threat against the event.
“Intelligence gathering is a critical part of public safety and we have to be prepared,” city councillor Ed Flynn told Boston25. “We have to acknowledge we live in a dangerous world and American cities have to be prepared and work with federal partners on this issue.”
And he added: “What happens in New York has a direct relationship here in Boston.”
The Joint Terrorism Task Force will play a key role overseeing Sunday’s parade, one of the city’s biggest events of the year, retired Boston police chief Dan Linskey told the outlet.
Boston was infamously the target of a 2013 attack on the city’s marathon, where the Tsarnaev brothers detonated two pressure-cooker bombs at the course’s finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others.
The Independent has contacted the Boston City Council for more information.
This year, the parade route will be walked in reverse in honor of the 250th anniversary of America and Evacuation Day – also due to take place on March 17 at the same time as St Patrick’s Day. The switch-up is intended to symbolically “rewind” the moment the parade celebrates, according to organizers.
It comes after two teenagers were arrested and charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to ISIS, after an alleged attack in New York City in which they claimed to have aimed to outdo the damage caused by the Boston Bombers.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were charged following the incident at an anti-Islamic protest outside the New York City mayor’s residence on March 7. Balat, a senior in high school in Pennsylvania, reportedly told investigators he wanted an attack to be “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing.
Though the attack has not been connected to the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, it comes amid heightened concerns in major American cities over tensions caused by the conflict, which began nearly two weeks ago with a major bombing campaign carried out by Israeli and American forces.
This week, it was reported that U.S. intelligence services had intercepted encrypted communications, believed to have originated in Iran, that suggest Iran may have sent out triggers to potential “sleeper assets” across the globe.
The message could “be intended to activate or provide instructions to prepositioned sleeper assets operating outside the originating country,” according to a federal alert sent to law enforcement agencies, which added the transmission was “likely of Iranian origin.”
“While the exact contents of these transmissions cannot currently be determined, the sudden appearance of a new station with international rebroadcast characteristics warrants heightened situational awareness,” the alert added.
Sleeper assets, also referred to as sleeper cells, are spies or terrorists hiding out in other countries who often live quiet and unassuming lives until they are called to act on a mission.
