Tanks Arrive In DC Ahead Of July 4 Celebration
WASHINGTON (AP) -- At least two Army tanks have arrived in Washington ahead of a Fourth of July celebration that President Donald Trump says will include military hardware.
An Associated Press photographer says the two M1A1 Abrams tanks are with four other military vehicles on a freight train in a railyard at the southeastern edge of Washington.
The vehicles are being guarded by military police but are visible to passers-by on nearby paths. A military official earlier told the AP that the tanks were transported north from Fort Stewart in Georgia.
Trump told reporters Monday that the tanks will be stationed outside the Fourth of July celebration but has not given details on how they will be used.
Trump had wanted a parade of military tanks and other equipment in Washington after witnessing a similar parade in Paris in 2017. But that plan eventually was scuttled, partly because of cost.
This year, the president is organizing an event called "Salute to America" that the administration says will honor the U.S. military.
Trump plans to deliver a speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday. The event will include music, military demonstrations and flyovers. The annual fireworks display will go off closer to the Lincoln Memorial than the Washington Monument.
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