What the FBI Terror Alert for July 4 Really Means

Over the past few days, you’ve probably seen a headline or caught a news report about the recent bulletin from the Federal Bureau of Investigation about terror threats coinciding with the July 4 holiday.

The FBI is on high alert and is urging everyone to stay vigilant, but for an average citizen thinking about going to a fireworks show or watching a parade, what does this really mean? Should you be worried?

“I know I’d take my family to an event, fireworks or parade,” said Col. Michael J. Winquist, a chief of police in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Winquist would certainly be a man whose lead is worth following. Not only is he a police chief, he came to the state’s third-largest city to serve as chief as the outgoing No. 2 ranking official at the state police. There, he was the director of the Rhode Island State Police Fusion Center — one of 76 such centers dotting the country that coordinate intelligence sharing and counterterrorism efforts. And there’s one covering you, right now.

That means when the FBI issues such a bulletin, Winquist was the person in charge of taking that information and distributing it to local law enforcement.

When the bulletin is sent, fusion centers take the information and reach out to local police departments to relay important details.

In this case, there is no credible or specific threat. That means that the warning and calls to be on high alert are not much different than the precautions urged on New Year’s Eve and other events where large gatherings of people are expected, Winquist said.

If there is a specific threat, the information is sent almost instantly to the relevant fusion center and across the FBI and Department of Homeland Security networks. If there was a credible threat for any one event, the information would immediately be sent to the relevant agency on the ground. Within seconds of the FBI or DHS uncovering a plot, the police working on security details at the event could have that information.

“The state fusion centers are like intelligence hubs designed to tap into a number of law enforcement networks,” Winquist said. “If there is something of a general concern, it gets pushed out through that network and if the Joint Terrorism Task Force determines a threat is credible, we can immediately ask for support of local and state police.”

The most recent FBI alert is one of those “general concerns,” but that doesn’t mean that law enforcement in your city or town isn’t taking extra precautions.

In general, local law enforcement will take steps to be extra alert whenever there are holidays or celebrations that deal with national pride, such as Independence Day.

The sad fact is that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies around the country have had a bit of practice responding to threats in recent years, especially in the wake of September 11.

As a result, a community event like a parade will have a strong police presence. But the tools police use these days might be invisible to the general public.

You might see police conducting K-9 sweeps to check garbage bins and parade viewing stands. There will be undercover officers in the crowd, in the parade, and others in places you might never think of looking.

And technology, including the communication tools employed by the fusion centers, play a key role. There are cameras everywhere, special detection devices and advanced communications and response equipment. Plus, things like the Code Red community notification system and other ways to collect and sort through social media posts and pictures empowers police to help the public stay safe and get help from people if they’re looking for information or suspicious people.

In fact, Winquist said that many of the tools employed by law enforcement are being used to stop plots in the first place. Not only does it take a lot of planning for police to protect the public at major events, terrorists have to go through a lot of planning to pull off a successful terrorist act. Consider the case of a Nicholas Rovinski, a Rhode Island man recently arrested for an alleged plot to behead a blogger and kill cops.

Police monitored his activity for weeks and kept presence outside his house. And it was happening at the same time as a local parade and celebration was taking place not far from his home.

“We took an increased security stance and made sure a lot of things were visible,” Winquist said.” And there were a lot of things not visible to the public.”

And another compelling reason not to be deterred is the fact that terrorists groups and sympathizers want nothing more than to disrupt our lives and attack the American way of life, which is supposed to be about freedom, openness and basic fundamental rights.

“I look at it this way,” Winquist said. “If we stay away, the terrorists win. They want us to give up our way of life and freedom.”

Of course, if you see someone or something suspicious, no matter how small or minor, report it.

“A lot of times, these plots are uncovered through good police working with citizens who report suspicious activity,” Winquist said. “I know a lot of other chiefs are doing the same — monitoring the events they have and employing all the security tools at their disposal.”