Police on alert amid rumors of nationwide protests

Law enforcement officers and business owners around the country are reportedly on high alert amid rumors of nationwide protests Friday evening.

According to local Fox News affiliate KDFW-TV, Dallas County Sheriff’s deputies were strategizing Thursday after affiliates of the hacktivist group Anonymous announced this week that it was teaming up with Black Lives Matter to organize “a nationwide day of solidarity” against police violence on July 15.

“In light of recent events in our country, activists of all types are coming together to spread a message of unity and togetherness,” read part of a press release posted on the website Anonhq.com. “Regardless if you support Black Lives Matter or not, encouraging people to come together is much more important right now.”

The proposed “day of solidarity” quickly became billed as a “day of rage” with the release of a video on an Anonymous YouTube channel promoting the protests.

The video shows graphic images of the recent fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile as well as the deadly ambush on officers in Dallas, as a male voiceover declares that Anonymous is “calling for a collective day of rage” against police brutality and corruption.

The voice in the video also goes on to say that “we must stress the importance of staying non-violent,” and @TheAnonMessage since posted several tweets denying a planned “day of rage” and insisting that Friday’s protests are “meant to be a peaceful show of nonviolence and civil disobedience.”

Meanwhile, the rumor-debunking site Snopes has suggested that the entire call to action might simply be a hoax — noting that the video in question is nearly identical to one that prompted false rumors about a “Day of Rage” following unrest in Ferguson back in August 2014. Snopes also pointed out that the recent video was not posted on Anonymous’s official YouTube channel.

Still, while most of the protests remained unconfirmed as of Friday afternoon, in light of the shootings that killed five police officers at a protest in Dallas last week, many law enforcement agencies were clearly unwilling to leave anything to chance.

As the Dallas County Sheriff’s office prepared for a potential gathering in Dealey Plaza, the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, so too did some nearby businesses. KDFW-TV reported that both the Old Red Courthouse museum and the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau planned to close early on Friday, and that a neighboring daycare center was asking parents to pick up their children by 3 p.m.

In addition to Dealey Plaza, the Anonymous press release lists specific locations in 35 other cities where it says protests are scheduled to be held on Friday evening, including Times Square in New York City and outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

According to the New York Post, the Department of Defense issued a threat advisory Thursday, urging all Army personnel to avoid the potential D.C. demonstrations “for your personal safety.”

Multiple Air Force bases issued similar warnings to airmen via their Facebook pages.

Some businesses near Lafayette Square in New Orleans — another alleged protest site — also sent employees home early Friday, the Advocate reported, while local police said they were on standby.

The Chicago Police Department also erred on the side of caution, issuing a statement Friday that “although the event is unconfirmed, CPD is aware of the planned rally this afternoon and will ensure adequate police resources are in place to ensure the safety of demonstrators and the public.”

Meanwhile, members of Black Lives Matter Chicago and other local advocacy groups were directing followers to an entirely separate protest via social media Friday evening.

The national Black Lives Matter group, for its part, took to Twitter to distance itself from any sort of #DayOfRage, while @TheAnonnMessage account has continued to promote #FridayOfSolidarity.