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Manhunt For Suspect Vance Boelter After Two Minnesota State Lawmakers Shot; Israel Iran Exchange Missiles; "No Kings" Protests Underway In Cities Across The U.S.; Next Hour, Trump's D.C. Military Parade Kicks Off. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 14, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:47]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

We begin with multiple breaking stories tonight. First, a manhunt underway in Minnesota for a person of interest in the shooting of two Democratic lawmakers. We've got new information on the chilling evidence that has officials calling that a politically motivated attack.

Also in the Middle East, missiles and sirens tonight across the Middle East, as Israel and Iran are once again ramping up strikes. Tonight we're going to take you live to that region.

And a show of force. Millions of people showing up today from coast to coast in protest of President Donald Trump's policies. Meanwhile, in Washington, a high-profile military parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army coinciding with President Trump's birthday.

A lot to cover, happening right now this intensifying search for the man described as a person of interest in what the governor of Minnesota calls an apparent politically motivated assassination. Now police have identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter. It's believed the shooter was impersonating a police officer during these attacks that happened in the early hours of the morning.

The gunman went to the home of the top Democrat in the Minnesota state house, Representative Melissa Hortman, killing her and her husband. Police say the same gunman then went to the home and shot Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. They have both survived and are now recovering after undergoing surgery.

Officials also say they found a manifesto in that suspect's vehicle. They say that included the names of many lawmakers and other officials. Residents in that area have been told to shelter in place.

CNN covering all angles of this. Joining us now, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller and CNN's Veronica Miracle. John, let's go first to you, as officials just recently wrapped up

this news conference and as you pointed out, there was this key detail about this suspect making it to Minneapolis hours after that shooting. What more did you take away from that?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, that because the latest picture that they have to release of him is a picture of him wearing a cowboy hat. He is in Minneapolis that was taken by a security camera.

But, Jessica, take a look at this poster. This is the FBI's wanted poster for Vance Luther Boelter. The picture on the far left, that is his driver's license photo from the state of Minneapolis. The picture next to that is from the Web site of his security company. The next picture shows him with a shaved head. Now that, according to law enforcement sources in Minnesota, is taken this morning during the actual crime where he's wearing that tactical bulletproof vest. He's got a flashlight and he is trying to gain entrance or leave one of the houses where these shootings actually occurred.

So that is key because it makes a difference if he doesn't appear like the two pictures on the left because he has shaved his hair or lost his hair. That is a significant development. Now that picture to the right, there he is in the cowboy hat, spotted at a business this morning in Minneapolis. So that would be the last known photo. But because of the cowboy hat, you can't tell exactly what he looks like there underneath the hat.

Either way, this is an effort that's being followed by every single law enforcement agency in the state of Minnesota, whether they are state, county, federal, or city as this manhunt continues. Just to recap, you know, we have the first attempted murder and then the double homicide, and then you have the vehicle that was left behind. Numerous other weapons inside, as well as a lot of ammunition.

In the bag of ammunition in the car among all the bullets, a card saying Happy Father's Day, signed Jenny. Jenny is also the name of Boelter's wife, so we assume that card was from her.

[17:05:03]

As well as a document with more than 70 names, names of state legislators in Minnesota, names of medical providers at clinics where it appears they provide abortion services, names of groups that are pro-choice.

So what emerges is with the killing of two Democratic legislators, that there could be a political motive to this, but also because of the number of medical people and pro-choice people on that list inside the car. A very long list. It also could emerge as another potential motive.

In the meantime, motive aside, the main thing here for law enforcement is where is he? And can we get him in custody?

DEAN: Absolutely. And John, yes, that -- you make such a good point. That look there with the bald head very different than the other photos. And that makes a difference when you're relying on the public to spot him. Please stay with us.

I do want to speak with Veronica Miracle here for a second, because, Veronica, I know you're tracking the conditions of the state senator, his wife, who we were told did survive but have undergone surgery. What do you know?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right, Jessica. But before I get to that, I just want to share some new reporting from our Josh Campbell, who says that the FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Vance Boelter. Of course, a very critical part of this investigation they're asking the public, as John mentioned, for help.

They, during the press conference, listed out all of the details of what he was wearing, that he was carrying a dark colored bag, wearing a cowboy hat, asking anybody who may have seen him. They believe that he was last -- could possibly still be in Minneapolis. He was last seen in the Twin Cities area and authorities during the press conference also mentioned that they have various images from different locations around that area spotting Vance Boelter.

Of course, they didn't elaborate too much as this is an ongoing investigation, but we also understand that Border Patrol has been alerted at the U.S.-Canadian border with his images just in case he does try to flee the country. It's about a less than seven hour drive north to the border, so that is still ongoing as well.

Now in terms of the conditions of the victims, we understand that State Senator Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, they are out of surgery. They are in stable condition. They are expected to survive. But some incredible news from family members who spoke to our affiliate KRTV, who said that doctors revealed that State Senator Hoffman, the bullet narrowly missed his heart, so could have been fatal potentially. But he is doing OK, recovering out of surgery.

And the bullet that hit his wife, Yvette, did not puncture any organs. They also said that Yvette, she just committed this act of heroism. She threw herself on top of her daughter in order to protect her. And her daughter was not shot. Her daughter was OK. Of course, we know that State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband died from their injuries.

But in terms of what is the motive here? Did the victims know the suspect? Did they know each other? Police did talk about this a little bit at the press conference. Here's what they had to say.

OK. Looks like we don't have that soundbite. But basically they said that they are still exploring that. There's certainly some kind of overlap in public meetings, apparently, Senator Hoffman and Vance Boelter may have overlapped in various locations, but they don't know if they actually knew each other. So in terms of a motive, they're still developing that.

Send it back to you, Jessica. DEAN: All right. Veronica, thank you very much for that. And we're

going to bring John Miller back in, as well as retired NYPD detective Tom Verni.

Good to have both of you back here with us.

John, I do want to go back to you for a second because I'm curious. We know there was this manifesto. We know there's this list of people that potentially could be targeted. What are authorities going to be doing tonight to make sure those people are safe, especially with this person still at large?

MILLER: Well, that started this morning. There's a doctrine called "Duty to Warn," meaning if you're on a hit list or you're in some kind of threat, they have, A, a duty to warn you and B, a duty to offer some kind of protection. So for state legislators, that's going to be the state police. For officials in those towns, a couple of the people on the list were mayors, you know, that's going to be local law enforcement.

But be assured, until this suspect is in custody, those people are going to be receiving some kind of protection, whether or not they remain at their locations or not. And, you know, that is something that is going to, regardless of protection, give a lot of people a lot of anxiety.

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DEAN: No doubt, no doubt about that.

MILLER: By the way, while we're on this.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLER: So take a look at that poster again. The first picture, the second picture, and then the picture where he appears to have a shaved head. If you take a closer look at that picture, and I don't know if we have the ability to zoom into it, I've zoomed into it after talking to Danny Friedman, who took a very close look at it. It appears that is very possibly a mask. One of those rubber masks that you pull over your head.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLER: Because if you'll notice the eye sockets, there's just a hole there.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLER: And if you notice the ear, there is just a hole there which does not appear the same as his other photographs. So it is entirely possible. And granted, we're at the early stages and I'm speculating a little bit here, based on Danny's observation, which I thought was very, very smart, that he has done something to change his appearance during the crime. So they would be looking for that guy instead of this guy, the picture taken from the security camera. DEAN: Wow, that is such a good point. We are zooming in. I think you

can probably see, too, for people. Again, John is talking about this photo on the left and what could potentially be changes to his face compared to this picture on the right with the cowboy hat.

Tom, what do you make of all of that?

TOM VERNI, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, this is, I mean, extremely troubling. The time that we're living in right now where people feel that they can just go and target those that they don't agree with politically. We saw this with President Trump when they attempted to assassinate him twice. And now in this case here.

You know, this is a situation where unfortunately, we have to come together as a country to decide, are we going to let these political divisions drive us to a point where violence is the only answer? And the answer is that that's not the answer, right? Because now you've had all of these lives shattered. And for those who have even survived this incident, you know, this is something that they're never going to forget and they're going to be traumatized for the rest of their lives as their families will be as well.

So as far as, you know, the attempt to conceal his identity, this is not uncommon. And John knows better than anybody else. During the commission of many different types of crimes, whether it be your average street robbery or in a case like this. And we even saw this, you know, during the, you know, the CEO killing back in December, where we have these high profile cases or even other cases where the suspect will attempt to either mask themselves or actually change their physical appearance, whether it be shaving off a beard or a mustache, or growing a beard or a mustache, to sort of thwart the authorities from trying to, you know, get a positive identification lock on this person's whereabouts. So that is very common in cases like this and other similar cases.

DEAN: Yes. And John, as Tom mentioned, just about political violence. You know, the federal authorities, Chris Wray, I'm thinking about when he was testifying before Congress was deeply -- they've been deeply concerned about a potential for a rise in political violence in this country. And now we are seeing, you know, more and more instances of this.

MILLER: And, I mean, you know, to pick up on Tom's point, the DHS threat assessment for 2025 specifically points out threats to public officials, threats to public officials and elected officials at their homes. And it goes on to detail, doxing, where you use regular internet searches and paid public records, aggregators to figure out where people live, swatting, where you send police to their homes at, you know, odd hours in the middle of the night saying, we got a report of, you know, people being held hostage.

I got to tell you, Jessica, I think in all likelihood, when the senator and when the speaker, you know, when they went to answer the door in the pre-dawn hours of the morning and they saw that police officer and, you know, look at that picture. He's dressed in blue. He has on him the bulletproof vest just above that in the front sling. If you go to that picture where he appears to have a shaved head, if we could lose the banner for a second.

You see, he's got the pistol in a front holster. The flashlight, like law enforcement would use, pointing at the door. And then below that, the thing that appears to be glowing, that's a taser. So you're looking at a guy who's got a pistol, a taser, a flashlight. He's got a bulletproof vest. He's dressed in blue. You know, they probably assumed, oh, my god, it's another swatting call. Not realizing that they were staring into what is probably the masked face of assassin.

DEAN: That is just terrifying.

[17:15:00]

John Miller and Tom Verni, thank you so much, both of you, for your thoughts. I really, really appreciate it.

We are following even more breaking news this out of the Middle East, where Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes as tensions escalate further. We're going to get you an update from there. We'll take you live to the region. That's next.

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DEAN: We're also following breaking news tonight in the Middle East. The IDF says Israel has launched a wave of strikes targeting different areas of Iran.

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Meantime, Iranian state media says Iran has launched a new barrage of projectiles toward Israel. The IDF saying it has identified some of those missiles.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is live in Tel Aviv with us.

Clarissa, as you watch the skies, what are you seeing there?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's quiet now. We were seeing before a number of intercepts and missiles to the north. We're now learning that they were falling in the Galilee area. We're told by Israeli authorities that at least 14 people have been injured as a result of some of those actually making landfall and impacting, in one case, a multi-story building.

We have seen some videos on social media that we're currently working very hard to verify so that we can share them with you and to geolocate them. Again, though, what we know so far is, according to Israeli health authorities, 14 people injured, one critically injured. It does not appear that those attacks are ongoing, but certainly people across the country really bracing themselves, Jessica, for another long night ahead.

Last night, needless to say, three people were killed across the country as these sort of tit-for-tat attacks continue as you mentioned in your intro as well. Israel has been striking inside of Iran and at this stage a very real concern, not just here in Israel and also in Iran, but across the region, that this is continuing to escalate and that with the removal or the announcement, I should say, that those talks that were scheduled to take place in Oman between Iran and the U.S., the fact that those talks have now been canceled, really leading to further fear that another potential exit ramp has effectively been removed and no obvious way now to try to bring both sides back from the brink.

One other thing that I should add, Jessica, is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been convening his National Security Council. We haven't heard any updates as a result of that meeting, but of course, we will let you know as soon as we do.

DEAN: Yes, certainly, Clarissa. And then just in terms of how long this could go on, Israel has said this could be days' worth of attacks, that this could unfold over a number of days. What are you hearing on that front?

WARD: That's what we're hearing as well, that this is not expected to be over and done with in a matter of minutes, that it could go on for days. It's very difficult to get a real sense of a timeline when we don't fully understand what the full scope of Israel's objective is in terms of these attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, but of also, of course, on its military leadership, other strategic military sites.

We've heard a lot of very fiery rhetoric from Israeli officials indicating that they would like to see Iranians come and take a stand and go out on the streets against Iran's regime. No indication yet that that is happening, but gives perhaps a clue as to potentially what one of the goals of this campaign is, though we don't know exactly in concrete terms what the specific military objectives are.

And so the expectation is that as long as those ballistic missiles keep on flying in both directions, people across this region will remain on high alert -- Jessica.

DEAN: And Clarissa, I just want to clarify something. You said you're hearing of 14 injuries, not casualties. Is that correct?

WARD: That's correct. We had heard of 14 injuries, but one of those injuries is believed to be in critical condition. So we will be watching that closely and checking back with you.

DEAN: OK. I just want to make sure that we have the best information there. All right. Clarissa Ward, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

Right now, several "No Kings" protests are underway across the country as millions of Americans are expected to turn out in protest of President Trump's administration. We are live from that scene.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Donald Trump has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho. Donald Trump has got to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: That was the scene this afternoon outside Chicago's Trump Tower, one of a number of places where protests were held against the president today. In all 50 states protesters taking to the streets to participate in what's called "No Kings" demonstration, protesting what organizers describe as Trump's disregard for the Constitution.

And we're covering these protests across the country. CNN's Michael Yoshida is in Los Angeles. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in New York City.

Michael, I do want to start with you because L.A., of course, ground zero for so many of the protests that we saw over these ICE raids. We saw President Trump federalizing the National Guard and people pushing back on that. And now these protests this weekend. What have you seen today?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good to be back with you, Jessica. Still here by city hall in downtown Los Angeles. You can see the crowd starting to thin maybe just a little bit, but still plenty of people out here. We know thousands took to the streets earlier today. And when you talk about everything we've seen play out for the last week here in Los Angeles, those ICE raids, then those protests near the detention center, in talking with those who showed up today, some of them, those -- that's the reason why they wanted to be here. They said to be a voice for those who can't speak up right now.

[17:30:09]

Others, it's about that No Kings protest. What we see right here, all of these different flags, all of these different signs, some saying, no kings in America, saying to resist speaking out against what they say are the Trump policies they disagree with, whether it turns to immigration or that federalization of the National Guard. You can see still a good crowd here, really just a sea of signs.

As we get closer to City Hall, you might be able to make out just the top part there on the steps leading up to L.A. City Hall, the top part of the Constitution that marched through the streets of L.A. earlier today.

And in terms of the people that showed up here, again, you can also see -- you were talking about kind of the last few days, the police, the sheriff's office, others that have been standing guard protecting the buildings here in downtown Los Angeles. We've seen that throughout as we've been marching, all peaceful from everything we've seen.

We've seen police kind of blocking some of the streets as the protesters make their way through. And it's really just -- it's been this, people waving flags, chanting, sometimes a little bit more colorfully, but a very peaceful scene, a very party scene, honestly, at points, with music and others things going on here in Los Angeles. As people say, they're saying no kings here in the United States and really protesting everything they've seen play out here for the last week in Los Angeles. Jessica?

DEAN: Michael, thank you so much, coming to us from Los Angeles.

Let's go back here to New York City right now. Let's bring in Gloria Pazmino. Gloria, you've with been with protesters in New York all afternoon. What has the vibe been like where you are?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica the official march that was taking place along Fifth Avenue has formally concluded and it concluded right here in Madison Square Park in Lower Manhattan. And you can see behind me that the crowd has been gathering.

And this has happened sort of organically in the last hour as the march concluded. And you can see that there are groups of protesters behind me. There is a person who's been speaking to the crowd and that focus on immigration that Michael was just talking about out in L.A. has been present here too during this march. I've heard from several people who are concerned about a range of different issues, not just immigration. They're concerned about the economy. They're concerned about climate. And they say that all of those issues brought them out here today.

For the most part, this protest here today in New York City has been peaceful. But the question now, as the sort of official march comes to an end is whether or not people are going to continue to demonstrate in other parts of the city later into the evening. We know that there are other sort of offshoots of the protests that have been taking place, and so we'll see how it sort of progresses over the next several hours.

Police are closely keeping an eye on this on this group as they gather here. But as I said, so far, it's just been people chanting, the organizers are speaking to the crowd, encouraging them to continue to speak out, to continue to protest. The crowd here is very diverse. There's children here, older people, families, young people that have come out which really gives you a sense of just the broad spectrum of people that have taken the time to join this protest here in New York City.

So far, we've seen no real interaction with police. As I said, they have been keeping a close eye on the march throughout the day. They have been marching along. They have been patrolling streets, patrolling businesses as the demonstrators move along. But so far, it has all been done peacefully and without much interaction between protesters and police.

DEAN: All right. Gloria Pazmino in New York, thank you so much for that.

We continue to stay on top of several breaking news stories of this hour as a manhunt is underway in Minnesota after a gunman killed a state lawmaker and her husband, and shot and injured another lawmaker and his wife. Officials saying that suspect appeared to be dressed as a police officer at the time of those shootings. We're following breaking details out of Minnesota when we come back.

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DEAN: Turning back now to one of our top stories this hour as an urgent manhunt is underway Minnesota for this man, Vance Boelter. He's been identified as a person of interest and a suspect in the shooting of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses. Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband died of multiple gunshot wounds. That is according to the local medical examiner. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot. They are now out of surgery and in stable condition.

And joining us now is former Minnesota State Representative Jim Davnie. Thank you so much for your time tonight. I first just want to say I'm so sorry for your loss. I know you served the Statehouse for many years and knew both the victims, Melissa, also a personal friend of yours. And to lose someone unexpectedly is awful. To lose them in this way is truly, truly, truly horrific. And we're really sorry for that loss and that trauma.

I first just was hoping you might tell us a little bit about Melissa.

FMR. STATE REP. JIM DAVNIE (D-MN): So, Melissa was a very personable individual.

[17:40:03]

What struck me all the time with her is wrangling a group of 60, 70, or 80 Democratic legislators is not for the faint of heart. It's hard work, with 60, 70, or 80 different political agendas, 60, 70 or 80 different egos all that need to be managed and directed in one direction.

And she did it by getting to know each and every one of us personally and really coming to understand what I needed versus what you needed, what my priorities and your priorities were and really just leaned into a warmth and a thoughtfulness that allowed her to be a great leader for the Democrats, but really a great leader for Minnesota.

DEAN: Did you know her husband at all? We'd met a number of times. You know, politics is a very social business. And in Minnesota in particular, it's a very open and retail business. So, Mark, would come onto the house floor at times. He'd be back in the retiring room behind the chamber. They'd be sharing dinner together at times during the legislative session. Nice guy.

DEAN: Yes. Have you been in touch with either of their families, either the state senator or Melissa's family at this point?

DAVNIE: I have not. I'm, you know, trying to step back and really my emphasis today is just holding their memories of Mark and Melissa and thinking of John and his wife, Yvette, and keeping -- giving them the space and their families the space that they need. You know, Mark and Melissa had two young adult children who've lost their parents in a horrible way today. And I just want to respect their privacy.

DEAN: Yes. I mean, you certainly -- you ache for them. How -- this --

DAVNIE: Absolutely.

DEAN: The governor has said this is a politically motivated assassination. You served as an elected official for many years. How does that make you feel?

DAVNIE: Well, I think what I want to make sure your viewers understand is that politics in Minnesota is very open. It's very retail. There are no metal detectors at the Minnesota State Capitol. There's no medical detectors at the office buildings for the legislators. It's very open. In any given day during the legislative session, hundreds, if not thousands of people are streaming through those buildings without a check. It's open. We legislators are available. They're coming and sitting in on hearings. They're connecting with us in our offices. They're stopping us in the hallways. This is a real threat to that openness and I think that's a loss for democracy. I think that's a loss for Minnesota.

DEAN: Well, yes. And if it is -- it is terroristic in that way, right? It makes people fearful to be out in the open, you know, being an elected official or a lawmaker.

DAVNIE: Absolutely. And that's been growing over time. When I was still serving, I retired in 2022, there was a day that armed right wing extremists were coming and stopping at legislators houses because our addresses are public information. It's been building since then with any number of my former colleagues reporting fear, reporting threats, reporting intimidation. It's just sadly where we're at as a country and we shouldn't be.

DEAN: Right. Wait, so your personal addresses were public there in Minnesota?

DAVNIE: Yes. It was very common to have them posted on our individual legislative websites. Those all got scrubbed, as you can imagine, very quickly after this armed group started visiting a couple of our colleagues' houses. It was terrifying.

DEAN: Have you spoken with any of your former colleagues who are still elected officials? Are they -- I mean, obviously, this is very upsetting, very scary, but what are they thinking? What are they thinking about right now?

DAVNIE: You know, I've reached out to several of them. They're all keeping their distance. They're staying at home. I know police cars are stationed in front of a number of their houses, particularly if they were on the list that was allegedly found in this manifesto that apparently was found in the vehicle. People are being very careful. Some are admitting publicly that they've moved to an undisclosed location for their safety. Folks are, needless to say, taking this very, very seriously.

DEAN: Jim, thank you for being here.

[17:45:00] We're wishing you the best. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. We really appreciate it.

DAVNIE: Thank you for the opportunity.

DEAN: Yes.

DAVNIE: Be safe.

DEAN: Thank you. You too.

And President Trump, just a few moments ago, reacting to this attack in Minneapolis. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, your reaction on the shootings in Minneapolis?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Absolutely terrible, absolutely terrible. And they're looking for that particular man right now. Thank you.

REPORTER: How concerned are you about potential attacks on U.S. forces in Iran?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: President Trump there just moments ago, as a reporter, shouted a question calling those attacks absolutely terrible.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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DEAN: This is new video just into CNN, as Iran state media is reporting Iran's Shahran Oil depot and fuel tank is on fire. That's what you're looking at right there, the target of airstrikes by the Israelis. Now, state media also reporting the country's oil ministry says that fire is under control, that the situation is under control.

This is northwest of Tehran. We're going to bring you more information as we learn it.

In less than an hour, President Trump's military parade is set to kick off. That event celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary. It is expected to feature tanks, bands, and thousands of troops marching down the streets of the nation's Capitol.

CNN's Kristen Holmes and Natasha Bertrand covering all sides of this for us. Kristen, let's start first with you. What is the president saying about these festivities and also the fact that it is his birthday today? KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. Actually, it's a race against the clock right now because Donald Trump, who is generally not early for anything, is about 45 minutes early to this location because they are saying this parade's going to start roughly around 6:00, and that's because of the inclement weather. They are trying to beat out those storms.

There is an entire performance plan that includes the Golden Knight Parachute demonstration, which they can't do if it's raining, thundering lightning. So, Donald Trump's about to arrive behind me. He'll be sitting in the box just over my shoulder there. He'll watch the entire thing, and we are expecting it to be quite a spectacle. There has almost never been anything like this in the United States, we're talking about millions of pounds of military hardware, 6,700 soldiers marching through. They're going to have people dressed from different eras with different weaponry from the revolutionary war to modern history. They're also going to have 50 helicopters, B-52 bombers from World War II.

And this is something that Donald Trump himself, while, yes, it is a coincidence, they say, that this is happening on his birthday, it's something that he has wanted to do in this country since his first term, since he went to France and saw military parade in 2017. He urged his team to put one together. They believed it might look too political. There was a lot of risk involved. This team this time around, and given the fact that it is the military's 250th birthday, they went all-in on planning this. And it is a going to be a huge show, one that the president is very much looking forward, we are told, talking behind the scenes about it.

Now, this, of course, is coming at a time in which there are questions about the politicalization of the military. We saw Donald Trump at Fort Bragg, which rubbed some military officials the wrong way because of the fact were cheering for him, booing for Joe Biden. But at the same time, his team says this is all about the army. This is all about the military. They are celebrating that 250th anniversary of the Army, which, of course, was founded a year before the country.

DEAN: All right. Kristen, thank you so much. I do want to check in with Natasha, who's along the parade route. Natasha, obviously, Kristen's saying that parade's getting bumped up because of the threat of inclement weather. What more are you seeing from your vantage point?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, we've seen people trickle in throughout the day. There are several supporters lined up already ready to see this parade that has not happened in decades since after the Gulf War when there was last a major military parade here on the streets of D.C.

The Army has been preparing for a birthday celebration for several years now, but this parade was only added in the last few months as a result of a request from the White House. They said, why don't we take this opportunity to have this military parade? Of course, that President Trump has wanted since his first term. And so the Army Corps of Engineers, they have been scrambling in recent months to try to prepare the streets of Washington, D.C., for all of this very heavy equipment that is going to be rolling down right behind me, including 28 Abrams tanks.

Now, each one of those tanks weighs about 70 tons. So, you can imagine the kind of planning that had to go in to make sure that these tanks are not going to rip up the roads, destroy infrastructure. We're told that part of that planning is putting down metal plates on the streets.

You can see them at various corners here or along the route. There are pads on the tanks so that they don't actually make direct contact with the street. They're also going to be moving various. Slowly at walking pace along with the 7,000 soldiers that we are prepared to see here that are going to be participating in the parade.

So, the Army, of course, very excited about this. I did speak very briefly to an Army official who said that they were concerned about some protests potentially, but that Army soldiers who have been living here over the last few days, they have seen nothing but warmness from the people of Washington. Here's a little bit of what he said.

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COL. MARTIN MEINERS, U.S. ARMY: I've been talking to our soldiers. And they have felt a very warm reception here in D.C. I think there were concerns of protests, but we haven't seen anything like that.

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They've had, you know, a great experience here in the city. Everyone they've talked to has been very kind. And, you know, of course, the U.S. Army is a non-partisan organization. So, today, June 14th is the U.S. Army's birthday. That's why 7,000 of us are here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So, the parade is expected to kick off here momentarily, and we'll be seeing all of this massive major equipment rolling down right behind me on Constitution Avenue. Jess?

DEAN: All right. Natasha Bertrand in Washington, D.C., thanks so much for that.

And thank you for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern CNN's live special coverage of the D.C. Military Parade with Brianna Keilar Boris Sanchez starts right after a quick break. Have a good night, everyone.

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