Amid talk of a possible terror attack on U.S. soil this weekend, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik tells
Newsmax TV Americans need to "remain vigilant."
During an appearance on "Newsmax Prime," Kerik told host J.D. Hayworth there's currently a high threat level. He points to Thursday's "massive response" to what turned out to be nothing at
the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. A 911 caller had alerted authorities to an active shooter at the base.
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"The threat level is high by all accounts, the chatter, the online chatter, the recruitment by ISIS and al-Qaida and other radical extremist groups," Kerik says. "It's extremely heavy right now, they're calling for attacks against their enemies. We are one of their prime enemies in their eyes, at least. So at this point we have to remain vigilant.
"What we saw this morning [at the Navy Yard] was a response to that vigilance. I was a bit concerned this morning. This was an unconfirmed 911 call. We had a massive response. We've got to make sure that things like this don't result in a mass response and then they create a diversion to go somewhere else."
Hayworth then asked if U.S. authorities are too reactive instead of being proactive. The response to the Navy Yard 911 call resulted in hours of street closures in the nation's capital as hundreds of local and federal law enforcement officers and agents swarmed to the complex.
"It's almost like you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't," Kerik says. "The reality is we have to be prepared to respond, we have to be pre-emptive, proactive, we have to be excellent at the crisis response because if we're not, say that active shooter scenario this morning was live and real. We've got to be prepared to defend that premise, the facility, and get those people out of there and rescue and recover so we've got to be prepared."
Meanwhile, Rep.
Peter King, R-N.Y., said this week the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group might be plotting to detonate a bomb in the New York City area on the Fourth of July.
"I've been aware of this now for about the last two or three weeks … the real possibility of something being attempted on the Fourth of July," said King, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
Former Homeland Security Secretary
Tom Ridge told Newsmax on Thursday that Americans should enjoy their July Fourth holiday but stay alert.
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