On 11 occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding safety and security matters. 10 of these alerts dealt with developments related to ongoing demonstrations, rioting and destructive behavior in cities across the U.S..
Most important for this report:
On Friday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of large anti-Trump protests planned for Saturday, June 6 in Washington DC, Los Angeles, and numerous other cities across the U.S.. During a press briefing, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham stated;
“We have a lot of public, open-source information to suggest that the event this upcoming Saturday may be one of the largest that we’ve had in the city.”
Rally Announcements
https://rallylist.com/raise-the-demand-in-dc-trump-pence-out-now/
https://refusefascism.org/
https://www.facebook.com/events/250380986192377/
At a Justice Department news conference on Thursday, Attorney General William Barr said that more than 100 security officials were injured in Washington last weekend alone amid demonstrations protesting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The AG stated that individuals in Lafayette Park, just north of the White House, used crowbars to dig pavers from the ground and then hurled them, resulting in head injuries to those behind the police lines, including numerous members of the Secret Service and other federal officers.
AG Barr added the following:
We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups, as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions, have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity. We are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.
In advance of this weekend's protests, the Secret Service announced it would be closing certain areas around the White House. New security fencing has been installed around the broader complex, significantly expanding the security zone to include Lafayette Park to the immediate North of the White House, as well as the 52-acre Ellipse park and its roadways, sidewalks and side panels immediately to the South.
Federal troops, including 600 active duty military police from Fort Bragg and Fort Drum, N.Y., have been deployed to the National Capital Region and are staging at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. These forces could be called upon if necessary. To date, policing of the city has been left to law enforcement officers and National Guard troops. As of Thursday, 1,200 D.C. National Guard forces were already on duty, and 3,300 others were either already in the district, or about to arrive from Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
According to White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, the use of the active duty military would only come if National Guard troops proved insufficient to quell riots and looting that had been a part of some of the protests.
Earlier in the week, President Trump threatened to deploy the military if states and cities failed to quell the demonstrations.
“If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."
While this report has primarily focused on efforts to prepare for and respond to violent protests in the nation's capital, readers are again reminded that protests will be taking place in the coming days and weeks across the U.S., including in such cities as New York, Atlanta, Columbus, Louisville, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles.
FROM THE CITIES TO THE SUBURBS
In addition, this past week has seen a growing trend of more radical protests moving from inner-cities and downtown areas into more affluent suburbs. In fact, some elected officials are actually encouraging the tactic, such as Buffalo City Councilman Rasheed Wyatt. This week, Wyatt livestreamed a call within which he directed looters and rioters to go to non-black neighborhoods:
“Why would we tear up our neighborhood? I see all the protests going on all throughout the country and we tearing up our neighborhood. Go somewhere else and loot, loot somewhere else. Wyatt goes onto comment on how he believes Dr. Martin Luther King was only nonviolent because black people didn’t own enough guns to win, and stated that he believes looters should leave their own communities and wreak havoc in others.”
Once again, AlertsUSA urges readers to maintain perspective on the events of the last two weeks. Remember that a national election is just months away. Just as was demonstrated in 2016 in the run up to and immediately following the election of Donald Trump as President, left-leaning groups across America leveraged every opportunity to sow discord, destroy businesses, disrupt commerce, and stir up mayhem. Add into the current mix the historically high unemployment rate brought about by the national response to the coronavirus and the overall desperation of millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside down or whose businesses have been ruined, and it is easy to see that we have the makings for a potentially very dangerous summer and autumn ahead, both on a local level as well as nationally.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
As of the time of this report's preparation on Friday, there were more than 1,894,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., as well as 109,000 deaths. That's 109,000 deaths in just the past few months. In addition, federal and State health authorities are watching closely to see if the widespread mass demonstrations and rioting results in a new surge in COVID-19 case numbers. AlertsUSA encourages readers to remain conscious of the need to maintain social distancing protocols when out and about.
OFFICIAL CASE NUMBERS
World Health Organization
Centers for Disease Control (U.S.)
Johns Hopkins CSSE (Interactive map updated multiple times daily)
WHO RISK OF SPREAD & IMPACT ASSESSMENT
China Very High
Regional Level Very High
Global Level Very High
PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE RESOURCES
White House
Guidelines for Opening Up America Again
Official Coronavirus Information Pages:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Drug Administration
Public Health Agency of Canada
Infection Prevention and Control Canada
World Health Organization
Official Pandemic Preparedness Guidance:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Department of Homeland Security / Ready.Gov
World Health Organization
DIY CLOTH MASK RESOURCES
Don't buy the masks online. At the present time, most retail masks are made in China anyhow. Make it at home.
CDC Homemade Cloth Face Coverings
Instructables DIY Cloth Face Mask
NYT How to Sew a Face Mask
The Olson Mask Pattern
Assorted Resources
(While some of the resources below were prepared for pandemic influenza, the broader guidance contain therein is directly applicable to the current coronavirus crisis).
Home Care for Patients w/ Suspected Coronavirus Infection
Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza
Fundamentals of Emergency Planning for Schools
Healthcare Systems Preparedness for COVID-19
Pub Health Guidance for Community-Level Preparedness & Response (SARS)
Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist
Faith-based & Community Org. Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Checklist
WHO Checklist for Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Planning
Get Your Workplace Ready for Pandemic Flu
Dept of Defense Coronavirus Response Page
DHS Supplemental Instructions For Inbound Flights
