MILWAUKEE — After the person believed to have made a threat about Mexican Fiesta was arrested, officials with the festival said they will still have an increased security presence.
"It's going to be a beautiful weekend," said Ruben Burgos, president of Mexican Fiesta.
"Security is in place. The police department gave extra resources. The person making the threat, which was deemed not credible by police, has been detained. There's no reason to feel unsafe coming down here," said Burgos.
The president of the festival said Milwaukee Police told him about the arrest this week.
"It's very sad," said Tamara Olivas of Mexican Fiesta. "A young man, 19 years old. Nowadays, it's easy to play pranks, because that's really what it was probably. There were no weapons when he was arrested, so there was no real threat."
In addition to extra resources from Milwaukee Police, Burgos said there will be even more volunteers from the National League of Latino Law Enforcement Officers. Those resources will still be in place this weekend.
"Now, with the arrest, it should relieve everyone's tensions," Burgos said.
Burgos said they would treat any threat seriously. However, just weeks after a shooting in El Paso, where the shooter told police he was targeting Latinos, it put everyone on high alert.
"Now, with the arrest, it should relieve everyone's tensions." — Ruben Burgos, president of Mexican Fiesta
"We got calls all weeklong about, 'Should we come to Mexican Fiesta?' " Burgos said. "For us, it was like, 'yes.' We'll do everything possible to make this a safe event."
"If any place is going to be safe this weekend, it's going to be Mexican Fiesta," Olivas said.
For more information on the event, click here.
