Drones are a top threat to the public at FIFA World Cup games in dozens of U.S. cities this summer, and authorities acknowledged that they cannot lock down all of them, according to FIFA and U.S. officials.
Law enforcement and security officials tasked with maintaining public safety at the games starting in June told lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday that drones used to surveil the public, as well as carry out attacks from the sky, are a serious cause for concern as they plan countermeasures, according to Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association.
“There are so many other locations that we don’t have people trained and the equipment in place for countermeasures that [drones] can go anywhere a crowd is at and immediately hit those targets and cause mass destruction and we don’t have the capability across the board to fight every drone threat,” Sena testified during a House Homeland Security Committee on security at the games.
Sena oversees 3,200 federal, state, local, and private-sector workers across 80 fusion centers nationwide that share, analyze, and respond to national security threats. He explained how drones could fly over a large group of spectators in a venue or outside of one and cause chaos.
“The ability of drones to carry a payload — even if it’s a small payload — can cause panic. If it’s a white powder dropped, well, who knows what that is. A stampede alone will injure people — even worse if it’s some type of poison that can harm people like fentanyl,” Sena said.
The international soccer governing body has planned the world’s largest sporting event ever for June 11 through July 19. The World Cup will be played in cities across the United States, as well as in other cities in North America.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the former committee chairman, agreed that drones were “really the threat” at the games.
Ray Martinez, the chief operating officer of the FIFA World Cup’s Miami Host Committee, warned Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that the committee sees “malicious or reckless” drone use at the massive series of events as “one of the most significant emergency threats.” The public is not allowed to fly drones in the airspace at or around the events.
Security officials are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to impose flight restrictions, improve the ability to detect unfamiliar drones, and take down drones.
HOW ICE WILL DRAMATICALLY EXPAND IMMIGRANT DETENTION IN 2026
Counterdrone measures include jamming the radio frequencies a drone operator uses to communicate and operate the unmanned aerial system.
Technology and the legal authorities needed to take down drones are not accessible to all local and state law enforcement, which limits their ability to monitor and respond to rogue drones.