(WASHINGTON) — As UFC fans descend on Washington, D.C., for Freedom 250 on Sunday and events surrounding it Friday and Saturday, security will also be strict, according to the top Secret Service agent for D.C.
UFC Freedom 250 has been designated a Special Event Assessment Review 1 event, like the Super Bowl, Indianapolis 500, Kentucky Derby and college football games, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Entrance to the South Lawn of the White House, where the UFC Octagon has been erected, is invitation-only for some 4,000 guests. The larger crowd will be watching on The Ellipse, outside the White House grounds.
The UFC Fan Fest and Watch Party on the Ellipse is free, but tickets are required and fans will have to pass through TSA-like screening, according to Tara McLeese, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office.
“Come early, don’t bring large bags, TSA-like security screening,” McLeese told ABC News.
Federal law prohibits flying drones in the airspace over the National Capital Region, so McLeese’s advice for fans is to “leave their drones at home.”
“We will have law enforcement drones for overwatch, but just to make it simple for the public, if they see a drone, we want them to report that,” she said.
The fight on the South Lawn and viewing on The Ellipse kick off a summer of events in the nation’s capital, many celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
“The public safety team here in the Washington, D.C., area is second to none. We have a lot of big events in D.C., and it’s very much a collaborative effort, a team effort here in D.C.,” McLeese said. The Secret Service is partnering with U.S. Park Police for security.
For the first time, the annual 4th of July fireworks display on the National Mall will be designated a National Special Security Event, with security levels on par with presidential inaugurations. The event is something Secret Service is also “very focused on,” McLeese said, adding that people attending the celebration will also have to pass through TSA-like screening.
In years past “you could just walk up and put a lawn chair and a blanket out. That will be different this year,” she said. “You won’t be able to just show up. There will be specific places, designated places to go through security before you can get on the Mall.”
The Secret Service uniformed division and agents have been involved in three shootings in the past two months — the first at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when a gunman allegedly attempted to get through the screening area with a firearm, the second in which a man allegedly fired on a unformed officer near the Washington Monument and then days later a man allegedly opened fire on uniformed officers over Memorial Day weekend.
“I can tell you that our workforce is training every day, that we are hyper-focused on ensuring that we are ready to respond to any type of threat or attack that comes our way,” McLeese said.
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