Folks will want to be especially alert on the 4th of July this year for a variety of reasons. Hopefully, it will just be a peaceful day of barbecues, parades, and fireworks, but there are some current events that you should consider before making plans to be out there with the crowds.

While there are no specific or credible immediate threats, with all the craziness going on in our country lately, it pays to be vigilant on the 4th of July. Personally, I tend to think that at some point in the not-so-distant future, things are going to boil over. Will it be this week during the Independence Day celebrations? I have absolutely no idea, but I'm not taking any chances and I felt compelled to share my thoughts with you.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have been protesting.

This past weekend, hundreds of thousands of Americans protested the United States' immigration policies in cities across the country.

More than 750 "Families Belong Together" marches took place in all 50 US states and Twitter showed sister demonstrations in London, Munich, Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, and others cities around the globe. (source)

Most of the protests were uneventful and peaceful. And it's important to remember that even if you disagree with the reasons behind the protest, it is absolutely the right of the people and the American way. But in some places, things got ugly. Other concurrent protests were going on, counterprotesters showed up, and what began as peaceful events turned into riots.

Most notably, in Portland, Oregon, things really escalated.

Last week, protesters blocked access to the ICE building, effectively shutting it down. They pitched tents and "occupied" the facility.