Oscars security tighter than ever: 1-mile police buffer amid Iran war
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It’s been more than two decades since the Oscars were celebrated as the United States was launching a war in the Middle East.In 2003, the Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre occurred just days after U.S.
troops invaded Iraq, elevating security concerns surrounding Hollywood’s biggest night so much that they tightened security like never before.This time around — with concerns heightened not only because of a war with Iran, but also a recent shooting at a university in Virginia and an attack on a synagogue in Michigan — security is going to be even more ironclad, authorities said.The dialed-up security, law enforcement and Oscars officials emphasize, is precautionary and there are no known credible threats to the event.Authorities are setting up a one-mile security perimeter around the Dolby Theatre for the celebration.
Federal and local agencies working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force are monitoring social media and gathering intelligence to prevent any security risks.And Los Angeles Police Department SWAT, bomb squad and snipers will be in the area, law enforcement sources told The Times.
LAPD Capt.Mike Bland said the department in recent years created a specialized group to handle major events and that it now uses many more personnel for the Oscars.“Security is heightened more than years past not just because of ongoing events but because of the past few years,” he said.Security has been tighter at the Oscars every year since the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks 24½ years ago.While federal and local law enforcement agencies don’t publicly share all of the safeguards in place, sources have told The Times that even the air around the event is constantly checked for potential hazards, including radiation.
In past years, a biological decontamination unit was placed in the area and military-grade drones flew overhead.There’s also more unseen security bei...