FBI, DHS issue terrorism warning ahead of Pride Month
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Pete Pride Parade is just a month away and it’s the biggest in the southeast U.S., with more than 500,000 people attending each year. But there’s a new warning from the feds that this year’s Pride Month may be a target for terrorist organizations.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a warning saying: "Foreign terrorist organizations or their supporters potential targeting of LGBTQIA+-related events and venues … may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month."
The St. Pete Police Department and the event organizers are already prepping to make sure it is a safe day.
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"We start four or five months out thinking about pride… this is always the largest parade in Florida so we prepare for that. People coming from all over the U.S., so we want to continue to make it safe and want people to feel like it’s safe in our community," St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway said. "We get warnings from the FBI and we look into it. Ask our community about threats, we gear up for that. We are going to plan for the worst and expect the best."
The event organizer says the show will still go.
"It always concerns me, the health and safety of the people that engage with our organization. I think my number one goal every single year is that everybody makes it home safe to their families. Celebrating is fantastic and getting the opportunity to have that joy, experience that joy with other people is really transformative. But making it home is equally important," said Dr. Byron Green-Calisch, St Pete Pride President of Board of Directors.
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The biggest message from law-enforcement and organizers: don’t let this war scare you, there will be a huge police presence out there.
"The threats are everywhere. I know from our perspective that we never want the threats to change how we show up, but we know that we have to keep going," said Green-Calisch.
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