U.S. Military told to avoid 37 cities for fear anti-police protests may turn violent

The Army last week warned all military personnel in the United States to avoid 37 American cities this week over concerns that anti-police protests, dubbed “Days of Rage,” are planned and could turn violent.

The July 8 notice from the U.S. Army North said there is a potential for violence or criminal activities in the aftermath of the shootings of five Dallas police officers.

The Army notice appears based on an online rumor, since denied, that the anarchist hacker group Anonymous had called for nationwide protests Friday in the U.S. cities.

Snopes.com reported Tuesday that the rumor calling for Days of Rage protests is false and is based on an identical false posting that circulated online and in emails in August 2014, related to the Ferguson, Missouri, protests against police.

A U.S. Army North spokesman, Lt. Col. Jason Shropshire, said the safety of soldiers and their families is a high priority. “For security reasons, we don’t discuss force-protection measures that we put into place at our Army installations or the specifics of cautionary advice we provide to our soldiers,” he said.