{"id":11080,"date":"2025-06-11T23:20:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T23:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=11080"},"modified":"2025-06-11T23:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T23:20:23","slug":"white-house-tries-to-clarify-trumps-call-for-using-heavy-force-on-any-military-parade-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=11080","title":{"rendered":"White House tries to clarify Trump’s call for using ‘heavy force’ on ‘any’ military parade protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The White House on Wednesday attempted to clarify President Donald Trump’s threat the day before to use “heavy force” against “any” protesters at the military parade this weekend in Washington celebrating the Army<\/a>‘s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n

“The president supports peaceful protests,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing after Trump on Tuesday did not distinguish between peaceful and violent protesters.<\/p>\n

“He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard,” she added, after being asked what Trump would allow at the parade given his military response to the protests against his immigration policies in Los Angeles<\/a>. “He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job.”<\/p>\n

“It’s very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not,” she said. “Unfortunately for Democrats, that line is not been made clear, and they’ve allowed this unrest in this violence to continue, and the president has had to step in.”<\/p>\n

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, June 11, 2025, in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to be used in the U.S. Army’s 250th Birthday Celebration and Parade, prepares to land on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 11, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Alexander Drago\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The president’s comments on Tuesday said protesters would be<\/a> “met with heavy force” if they arrived in Washington for the parade, which occurs days after he sent the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles<\/a> to quell protests against operations conducted by U.S. Immigration<\/a> and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

“These are people who hate our country,” he said in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to celebrate big on Saturday,” Trump added. “If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force.”<\/p>\n

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Soldiers stand between columns of Stryker armored vehicles taking part in the Army’s 250th birthday celebration parade during a preview at West Potomac Park in Washington, June 11, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A U.S. Army reviewing stand continues to be built in front of the White House ahead of the Army’s 250th birthday parade and celebration, June 11, 2025 in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

U.S. Secret Service and local D.C. officials have said they only expect several small protests at Saturday’s parade, and Trump himself on Tuesday night appeared to soften his earlier Oval Office comments somewhat, saying, “As long as we have the military there, the protests won’t mean anything.”<\/p>\n

“The military will be very heavy force — very proud to tell you that,” he told reporters who had asked him what he meant. “They might as well turn around. They’re wasting their time.”<\/p>\n

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Tourists navigate the anti-scale fences along the National Mall, June 11, 2025 in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A soldier looks out from an M1A2 Abrams tank ahead of the upcoming U.S. Army 250th anniversary celebration parade in Washington, June 11, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tall fencing has been set up and other security measures have been taken around Washington in the lead-up to the parade — measures the White House said are purely “proactive” and not in reaction to the protests in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

“These are proactive security measures to protect those marching in the parade, many of whom will be veterans, and our brave men and women in uniform and Gold Star families,” Leavitt said. “And of course, it’s to protect the spectators who will be enjoying this incredibly patriotic show on Saturday.”<\/p>\n

Leavitt’s comments came as the first soldiers arrive in the district for the parade.<\/p>\n

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Barricades are set up around a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter parked on display on the National Mall near the Smithsonian Castle, June 11, 2025 in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An M1A2\/Abrams tank sits in front of a road sign ahead of the upcoming U.S. Army 250th anniversary celebration parade in Washington, June 11, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Approximately 6,700 soldiers will participate, and there will be eight marching bands, 24 horses, two mules and a dog.<\/p>\n

Dozens of tanks, military vehicles, howitzers and various aircraft, including those used in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, will be on display, and the Army on Wednesday added rocket launchers and precision-guided missiles to the festivities.<\/p>\n

The White House also made a last-minute request for the Air Force’s Thunderbirds to fly over the parade, according to a U.S. official.<\/p>\n

The event has grown considerably in size in recent months, with a parade added after Trump’s inauguration.<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The White House on Wednesday attempted to clarify President Donald Trump’s threat the day before to use “heavy force” against “any” protesters at the military parade this weekend in Washington celebrating the Army‘s 250th anniversary. “The president supports peaceful protests,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing after Trump on Tuesday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11082,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11080\/revisions\/11082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}