This Saturday is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army being established. Several army bases throughout the country have big events planned, but sadly the one for Lawton will be no longer happening.

Lawton Cancels Army Parade for This Saturday

Tomorrow the city of Lawton and Fort Sill were going to come together to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. The parade route above was going to go through one of the many 'No Kings' protests scheduled throughout the country on Saturday. According to organizers of this event, they have gotten credible threats to the parade, so for the public's safety they have cancelled the event.

Lawton Mayor's Statement on Cancellation of Army Parade

This morning around 8:20, the Lawton Mayor released a statement on the situation which you can read in full above. "When credible intelligence indicated almost certain violence from groups with national ties, we faced an impossible choice. We simply cannot invite families and children to an event where violence is very likely to occur. No celebration is worth putting our community, especially our children, at risk. In America everyone has a voice and we respect that freedom of speech, it’s the encouragement of violence that crosses the line," a portion of Mayor Stan Booker's statement read.

No King's Lawton Protest Details

Taking a look at the No King's website, their protest was going to be happening the same time as the Army parade. In fact, the website directly mentions the parade for those planning on attending on Saturday.

"US ARMY 250TH BIRTHDAY PARADE starts 11 a.m. from the Central Plaza and goes along C Avenue, 11th St. and Ferris Ave. We are registered as LAWTON VETERANS UNITED FOR ACTION. This is a chance to march with FAMILY FRIENDLY signs protesting MAGA policies that have taken federal jobs from veterans, plans to further downsize the Veterans Administration and privatize services, and desecrates the oath we took "to protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic."

Fort Sill Still Hosting Anniversary Event Today

Although the parade tomorrow has been cancelled. This morning, Fort Sill is doing several demonstrations. Including live artillery fire and drone demonstrations. That event is happening until 11:30 this morning.