Inside the FBI's battle to keep drones out of World Cup sites amid heightened terrorism fears
As World Cup soccer fans cheer for their teams in Los Angeles and stadiums across the nation, FBI agents are working in command centers, watching out for unauthorized flying objects.It’s a nerve-racking race against time, and one week into the World Cup, the counter-unmanned aircraft centers have been busy.“We have a short period of time to determine if it is a threat,” said FBI Special Agent James Peaco, the weapons of mass destruction and counter-unmanned aircraft system coordinator for the bureau’s Los Angeles office, who is overseeing counter-drone operations.“The drone threat is here, and it is real.” The FBI has cited scores of drone pilots for interference in World Cup games, though a precise national total was not available.
Their names have not been released, and law enforcement sources said they were hobbyists who do not appear to be intent on causing harm.In the last week in Inglewood, where New Zealand and Iran have faced off and so have the Americans versus Paraguay, the FBI said it has intercepted at least 28 drones around SoFi Stadium and the fan festival at the L.A.Coliseum.Some drone operators are spotted by the federal eyes in the skies, but most commonly, ground interception teams of the FBI and local law enforcement at each venue make physical contact with the drone pilot.
Most pilots are very surprised when agents swoop down on them and give them a federal citation.The stakes of the operations became clear over the weekend when federal authorities arrested several people — including two men from California — in what they described as a plot to kill government officials and others at the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House last weekend.The five co-conspirators appeared to have been motivated by antigovernment ideology, authorities said.According to court records, co-conspirators allegedly discussed using drones to drop explosives on the north side of the White House to create panic and funnel event attendees towar...