Security Ramped Up In Tampa Ahead Of Super Bowl LV

Security Ramped Up In Tampa Ahead Of Super Bowl LV

Via Just The News:

In the first major American sporting event since the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6, more than a dozen law enforcement agencies have teamed up to maintain security on Sunday at Super Bowl 55, officials said.

“We’ve been working hard all year to make sure your only worry is who’s going to win,” the Tampa FBI’s Michael McPherson told reporters this week. “Our goal is your safety.”

The National Football League’s championship game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs will take place Feb. 7 at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. And, while COVID-19 has reduced the audience to only a third of the venue’s capacity, security officials have beefed up their presence over previous years’ games.

The game will be played less than two weeks after the Department of Homeland Security issued a months-long National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin. 

“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,” reads the Jan. 27 bulletin. 

The bulletin advised, among other things, that Americans avoid large crowds. And, even at reduced capacity seating, the Super Bowl will draw large numbers of people. 

Security officials were careful to note that nothing so far indicates that the big game is a target.

“There are no credible threats to the Super Bowl, or any related activity, at this moment,” McPherson said. But, he noted: “We’re constantly looking at threats that happen around the country.”