American Oversight Launches Investigation into Trump’s Parade Threats Amid Escalating Use of Force and Strongman Posturing
American Oversight FOIA requests follow president’s statement that parade protestors will be met with “very heavy force.”
American Oversight has launched an investigation — the latest in its ongoing effort to expose the Trump administration’s escalating use of federal power to intimidate and silence dissent — following the president’s declaration that any protesters at his upcoming military parade would be met with “very heavy force.” The threat, issued ahead of Saturday’s planned birthday parade, raises urgent concerns about the administration’s eagerness to weaponize law enforcement against peaceful protestors.
The nonprofit watchdog filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and National Park Service to obtain records concerning the potential use of force against civilians during the parade.
“Deploying federal force against protesters during the president’s military birthday parade is not about public safety — it’s political theater meant to project power and silence dissent,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “And it’s being paid for by the same taxpayers whose Social Security benefits this administration is trying to gut. Once again, the President is staging a show of force to intimidate, not protect. The American people have a right to know how their government is planning to respond to protests — and whether violence against civilians is part of the plan.”
The FOIA requests seek communications, policy memos, and directives from senior officials related to the expected potential use of crowd-control munitions and other tactics on June 14. The filings also target records reflecting officials’ reactions to Trump’s public statements threatening protesters.
This latest investigation builds on American Oversight’s broader efforts to expose the Trump administration’s increasingly dangerous efforts to turn federal agencies into instruments of intimidation. It follows the organization’s work during the first Trump administration, when American Oversight investigated key law enforcement agencies and sued for records related to the administration’s response to nationwide protests and the brutal tactics used by federal and local law enforcement — including chemical irritants and physical force against peaceful demonstrators — following the police killing of George Floyd.