NEW YORK — Police are hoping the only fireworks in the tri-state area this July 4 are in the sky.
The Department of Homeland Security warned about “violent extremists” looking to take advantage of lifted COVID-19 restrictions during the holiday weekend. They’re warning about homegrown terrorists, including possible white supremacist groups.
The NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller took PIX11 News inside the department’s joint operations command center, where the NYPD keeps track of what’s going on in the city, especially during major events that involve large crowds.
Miller said the warning comes as no surprise, given the political climate and recent violence across America.
“We’ve seen the number of active shooters across the country, we’ve seen other discussions of attacks, we saw what happened at the Capitol,” noted Miller.
However, the DHS made clear that there was no specific threat or plot against the upcoming Independence Day celebration.
Still, the NYPD isn’t taking any chances.
“We come prepared because we know we this is a time of high emotions in political debate,” said Miller.
