The FBI warned drone owners not to fly near Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium or the Fan Festival on the National WWI Museum and Memorial grounds during the World Cup.
Some just didn’t listen.
Nine drones have been seized since the festivities started last week, according to Kansas City FBI spokesman Dixon Land. In all, 14 illegal drone flights have been detected.
The rules were publicized and are clear: “If you’re within three miles of Arrowhead Stadium, don’t turn your drone on, don’t send it up in the air. If you’re around the fan festival, don’t turn your drone on, don’t send it in the air,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup.
These restrictions are in place until the final game at Arrowhead, which is temporarily renamed Kansas City Stadium, on July 11.
The FBI said drones have also been seized in Atlanta and Los Angles. So far, at least 15 have been seized across the country during the World Cup.
The federal government provided $500 million in grants to state and local authorities to beef up anti-drone surveillance ahead of the tournament.
Missouri received a $14 million grant. Kansas got a $5 million grant to detect what is technically known as UAS, or unmanned aircraft systems.
“A combined 326 events for the World Cup around the United States have counter-UAS mitigation,” said Giuliani, who is in Kansas City for Tuesday’s Argentina-Algeria match at Arrowhead.
Land said some of these cases could be referred to the U.S. attorney for criminal charges, and others could be sent to the Federal Aviation Administration for action.
A criminal conviction carries a potential year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine.
The FBI has been concentrating on drones as a significant threat for several months, launching a counter-drone training program for local police officers in October.
“Drones are my biggest concern. … Every single day, we improve,” Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified last week before the House Homeland Security Committee. “But that is a huge concern that we have.”
