Security preparations are underway across Washington ahead of a number of celebrations commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary this summer as the threat of political violence looms.

The first of the events, the UFC fight at the White House, will take place just weeks after a shooting outside of the complex and two months after the third assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

The White House said it was revisiting the president’s security strategy following the dinner, but questions remain about how the federal government, local officials in Washington, and event organizers will handle security as political tensions run high throughout the country.

“These kinds of things are always low probability, high consequence events,”  Thomas Warrick, a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official and nonresident fellow at The Atlantic Council told The Hill.

The multiple attempts on Trump’s life and the shooting outside of the White House are the latest incidents in a roughly decade-long string of politically-charged attacks. Last year, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a Turning Point USA rally in Utah. Five years ago in 2021, large crowds of protesters violently clashed with police officers at the Capitol and broke into the property during the certification of the 2020 election results. And multiple attempts on Trump’s life have occurred since he ran for re-election in 2024.

Former DHS and FBI official Javed Ali argued that despite officials’ best efforts, it is impossible to have 100 percent security at events including national security special events.

“It’s a question of what threats are known,” he said. “And then what are the potential threats that you don’t have any current intelligence or information about?” Ali, who is an associate professor at the University of Michigan, told The Hill.

“There’s only so many scenarios you can contemplate and try and build some security against but there’s always going to be gaps,” he said.

Warrick observed that details surrounding the events have been far less public in the lead up to the 2026 celebrations compared to the country’s bicentennial in 1976.

“The number and nature of the events, the dates on which they will be held, all of these kinds of things haven’t been near as well publicized as they were 50 years ago,” he said.

“This does have security implications because until the event planners have their plans in place, it’s very hard for the security planners to figure out how they’re going to deal with security, with crowd control, [and] with basic human needs,” he continued.

Freedom 250, the official public-private partnership organizing the celebrations across the country, touted its collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement ahead of the events.

“While America’s founding principles include spirited debate and civic engagement, there is no place for intimidation, violence, or threats in our public discourse our celebratory events,” said the group’s spokesperson Rachel Reisner.

“We are taking proactive steps to enhance security coordination, strengthen on-site protocols, and work closely with law enforcement and security professionals to provide a safe and secure environment at all Freedom 250 events,” she said.

And while much of the security planning for the events has been kept under wraps, federal and state entities have detailed some of the efforts that are being implemented.

Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jennine Pirro and the U.S. Marshals Service announced a summer safety surge ahead of the upcoming celebrations. The effort includes a request to bring in an additional 1,500 National Guardsmen to the capital, as well as the deployment of high visibility law enforcement patrols, K-9 units, drones and helicopters.

The surge is a part of a broader effort from law enforcement to reduce crime in the city going back to last summer.

Washington, D.C.’s Deputy Mayor Lindsey Appiah touted the city’s preparedness ahead of the events, noting that Washington played host to six national special security events between 2025 and 2026.

“For the past several months, we have been coordinating closely with regional partners, federal partners, public safety agencies, and event organizers to ensure events to commemorate America’s 250th year are safe, secure, and memorable for all DC residents and visitors,” Appiah said in a statement to The Hill.

An event is designated a national special security event, also known as NSSE, by the Homeland Security Secretary. The Secret Service, which falls under DHS’s umbrella, then takes the lead in establishing security perimeters, credentialing participants, and creating contingency plans.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice also emphasized the coordination between law enforcement agencies in a statement to The Hill.

“The Department of Justice is working hand in hand with our law enforcement components and partner agencies to ensure all who attend A250 or FIFA World Cup events this summer can do so safely,” the spokesperson said.

Efforts have also been made to secure travel ahead of the events. Late last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $250 million to the 11 states hosting FIFA World Cup events and the National Capital Region to detect drone activity.

But the White House Correspondent Dinner shooting and the shooting just outside of the White House parameter earlier this month have resurfaced concerns over the president’s security in open air spaces and outside of the White House.

“I expect that the White House political operation will be talking very closely with Secret Service leadership over how many events the president or his family will attend and then how those events will be managed,” Warrick said.

“The notable thing apart from this UFC match is the Secret Service’s desire that the president not do outdoor rallies because those are inevitably harder to protect than an indoor event,” he said.

While the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life took place at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania, the third attempt took place at the correspondents dinner which took place inside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton. Both shootings led to questions about the gaps in Trump’s security and which events were deemed safe for a president to attend.

“What went wrong at the White House Correspondents Dinner was something that motivated everybody involved to look at their protocols and to see what they might have done and what they might have missed,” Warrick said.

Trump has notably used the correspondents dinner shooting to call for the construction of the White House ballroom, which he said would include a military-grade security apparatus.

But Warrick argued there must be a bigger push to foster programs aimed at diverting threats, particularly potential active shooters, ahead of time.

“It’s clear that even after the 250th anniversary the threats aren’t going to go away,” he said.

“We really do need to think about programs designed to divert potential active shooters away from carrying acts of violence political or otherwise.”

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