Trump says D.C. military parade protesters will be met with 'very heavy force'

President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that protestors astatine his upcoming military parade successful Washington, D.C., volition beryllium met with "heavy force."

"We're going to beryllium celebrating large connected Saturday," Trump said astatine the White House astir the parade marking the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary.

"And if there's immoderate protester that wants to travel out, they volition beryllium met with precise large force," Trump said, earlier repeating that menace twice.

"I haven't adjacent heard astir a protest, but you know, this is radical that hatred our country, but they volition beryllium met with precise dense force," helium said.

But information officials and the U.S. Secret Service, during a briefing Monday, said they were tracking astir 9 protests aimed astatine the parade, which is being held connected Trump's 79th birthday.

They said the fig of protesters is expected to beryllium overmuch smaller than the fig of radical attending the parade.

The parade has drawn beardown disapproval from lawmakers successful Congress, including immoderate Republicans who question the event's precocious terms tag and optics.

The parade could outgo up to $45 million, according to an Army spokesperson.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Tuesday that helium is acrophobic astir the connection that the parade could send, NBC News reports.

"I wouldn't person done it," Paul said. "I'm not definite what the existent disbursal of it is, but ... we were ever antithetic than, you know, the images you saw successful the Soviet Union and North Korea," Paul said.

"We were arrogant not to beryllium that," helium continued.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said helium would not "spend the money" connected the lawsuit if it were up to him.

Trump's informing astir protests astatine the parade comes connected the heels of his deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and astir 700 Marines to Los Angeles successful effect to protests implicit national migration enforcement efforts.

The state's Democratic leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, and groups including the American Civil Liberties Union person fiercely opposed Trump's deployments. Newsom sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth connected Monday implicit the deployments and has asked a national justice to artifact them.

Trump's deployments volition outgo astir $134 million, a Pentagon authoritative told a House subcommittee Tuesday.