The Republican National Convention will thrust Cleveland into the global spotlight come July. While the city is preparing for the thousands of visitors so is the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
"We are one small piece of the entire plan, but we have been preparing for months," said JTTF Coordinator Special Agent John Breen.
The RNC is designated a National Special Security Event. There are 23 subcommittees each with a special role in the planning process. For the FBI it is to detect and disrupt terrorism. The JTTF is made up of state, local and federal agencies who focus on thwarting terrorist attacks or attempts.
19 different federal, state and local departments make up the JTTF. But for an event like the RNC, Breen said, the eyes of the public are needed to look for any suspicious activity, anything that is out of the ordinary or out of place he explained.
"We need the community. Counter terrorism is everyone's reasonability," said Breen.
