US Police Preparing for ‘Nightmare’ Attacks Ahead of Major Music Festival

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, begun in 1999, is an annual three-day event that sells almost 200,000 tickets (as of 2015) and features some 200 artists. According to security experts, the festival could be a target of choice for acts of terrorism. Law enforcement agencies have increasingly pulled additional personnel and are working up anti-terror scenarios.

The Indio Police Department has teamed up with federal agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Justice and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, as well as local law enforcement agencies, including the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Sgt. Dan Marshall of the Indio Police Department said that recent attacks around the world have influenced their preparations. Marshall did not disclose details.

"This festival takes almost eight months to prepare for," Marshall said. "We take world events into account."

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, claims that attacks on events and heavily-populated areas have increased.  

​"It's still definitely on their minds," said Dave Brooks, founder and executive editor of Amplify, an online magazine about the live entertainment industry. "The company that does security for the festival is Staff Pro out of Huntington Beach. Those guys are constantly thinking about mass-casualty shootings and active shooters… They're always preparing for that worst nightmare scenario."

Levin warns that, while providing extensive security for large festivals, smaller events still remain vulnerable.

"While a lot of attention is payed to larger, more symbolic events, vulnerabilities exist in every other place as well as in far more places," Levin said.