Big cities ramp up security ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations
Source: NBC News
Dec. 31, 2025, 11:47 AM EST
Police departments and emergency management agencies across the U.S. boosted New Year's Eve security measures on Wednesday as revelers gathered to ring in 2026.The festivities are shadowed by the anniversary of an ISIS-inspired truck-ramming terror attack in New Orleans on Jan. 1 that killed 15 people and injured scores of others. Wednesday's celebrations also come two weeks after the Justice Department arrested four people linked to an alleged plot to detonate bombs in the Los Angeles area on the last day of the year.
New Orleans' downtown area will be patrolled by nearly 800 local, state and federal law enforcement officers, public safety administrators told reporters at a security briefing this week. Louisiana National Guard members will help create an "enhanced security zone," with a focus on redirecting traffic and searching bags as crowds move through Bourbon Street and other densely populated parts of the city, the officials said.
"We're leveraging all of our law enforcement resources and public safety partners," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said, adding that law enforcement officers were "absolutely taking in what we experienced almost one year ago." "I believe that we've proven ... since that time, how we have gone the extra mile to ensure the safety again of our residents as well as our visitors," Cantrell said.
In Southern California, thousands of law enforcement personnel were working to secure the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade, according to NBC Los Angeles. L.A. County expects about a million people to descend on the city of Pasadena for the 137th installment of the parade. "We have lots of folks that are going to be out here, some that will be uniform and others that you wont be able to see," Pasadena Police Chief Eugene Harris told NBC Los Angeles, adding that officers will have a zero-tolerance policy for disruptive behavior along the 5.5-mile parade route.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/big-cities-ramp-security-ahead-new-years-eve-celebrations-rcna251671