Editor’s note: The Peterson Space Force Base Anti-Terrorism Office recently issued a security notice about an upcoming Juneteenth festival at The Citadel mall. An earlier incorrectly stated the security alert originated at the Air Force Academy and representatives with the academy agreed to pull it back.

The Colorado Springs Police Department erred in attributing the security alert to the academy and department staff provided Police Chief Adrian Vasquez with bad information, said Ira Cronin, a spokesman for the Police Department.

A security alert about Juneteenth sent out by military bases in Colorado Springs was not accurate, Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said on Friday.

The notice warns families against attending the festival at The Citadel mall on June 20-22 because the Colorado Springs Police Department “anticipates some level of violence during this event.”

Vasquez said one of his deputy chiefs worked to clear it up.

“There was no real factual basis for them to put that out,” he said.

The chief said his department had no specific concern about Juneteenth, compared to any other large event such as Territory Days. Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1864 when slaves in Texas received the news they were free, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

The notice specifically warns against attending Juneteenth because Men of Influence, a group focused on violence intervention and deescalation, is supporting the event.

The group put out a video Friday afternoon on social media pushing back against the security notice, in a line-by-line fashion.

Space Operations Command said in response to an emailed question from the Gazette about the police chief saying the notice was inaccurate by saying that any large gathering triggers heightened awareness advisories.

“The heightened vigilance is based off elevated risk due to the location, size, and public nature of the event,” a note from Space Base Delta 1, public affairs said.

The Men of Influence video states that, in four years, the group has never been involved in acts of violence and in fact are committed to preventing it.

“MOI has repeatedly stepped in when tensions threatened to boil over,” the video states. Incidents in The Citadel mall have also declined the since the group opened offices there.

Vasquez confirmed that Men of Influence is not on his department’s radar in a negative way.

City Councilmember Nancy Henjum represents the neighborhood that is home to the mall and said she thought the Juneteenth festival was a great opportunity for the mall. Previously, the event has been held at America the Beautiful Park.

“The Men of Influence are doing incredible work. People are looking forward to this,” she said of Juneteenth.

Last year, the local military bases briefly banned service members in town from going to The Citadel. It created an outcry among tenants, including a school and church.

Afterward, Vasquez said his department was going to change how crime data about the mall was communicated to the military.