Law enforcement authorities say those scrambling to get in the pope's presence during his U.S. visit need to be on alert – that terrorists dressed as police officers and emergency responders could be hiding among the crowds, waiting to strike.
Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Intelligence Center officials distributed a memo to other law enforcement agencies alerting of the potential for fake first responders with forged identification badges to weave among the thousands expected to turn out for the pope's parade and his other public appearances, Patch.com reported.
"The impersonators' main goals are to further their attack plan and do harm to unsuspecting citizens as well as members of the emergency services community," the bulletin read, Patch.com reported.
The notion isn't left-field.
The memo included examples of other such hoaxed incidents, including one in March when U.S. officials said they discovered plans by Army National Guardsman Hasan Edmonds and his cousin to dress in military uniforms to make it easier to kill dozens at an Illinois base. And a month later, French law enforcement officials arrested an ISIS-tied Algerian national, Sid Ahmed Ghlam, who was carrying police armbands and allegedly plotting to launch an attack against church-goers in Southern France, the news outlet reported.
Security levels for the pope's visit to America are at all-time highs, especially in Philadelphia, the site of Francis' largest projected event.