Philadelphia police expect protests in the city ahead of the presidential debate. Here’s what we know so far.

One of the most anticipated events of the 2024 presidential election is happening in Philly and local officials say they are prepared for protests.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said Monday that Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management would be activated ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, where Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to face off at 9 p.m. in their first debate.

State and federal law enforcement, Bethel said, will help the police department secure the area around the event. The area from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, Bethel said, will be closed off to vehicles and pedestrians.

“Our job is to protect both the safety of those individuals participating in the event as well as the individuals who are out and about in the community,” Bethel said during a news conference Monday at the District Attorney’s Office.

Bethel said police will be closely monitoring the crowds.

“We will allow them to exercise their First Amendment rights throughout the evening tomorrow. We would just ask that those involved not engage in behavior that would turn to criminal activity, etc.,” Bethel said. “If that was to occur, then our posture would shift into a much stronger approach.”

Here’s what we know so far about protests ahead of Tuesday’s debate:

The Philly Palestine Coalition and allies will be holding an organized demonstration Tuesday outside the Constitution Center at 6:30 p.m. as Harris and Trump get ready to take the debate stage, the group said in a news release.

The coalition believes the debate and the 2024 election “serves as a distraction, diverting attention from the United States’ ongoing complicity in the genocide and attempting to demobilize the growing movement for Palestinian liberation.”

Pro-Palestinian rallies have taken various forms in the city, dominating discussions on college campuses and at other local political events. The issue has deeply divided the Democratic Party since Israel’s war with Hamas began last year.

Some Mummers could be joining an event, organized by Trump campaign volunteers, that will welcome the former president’s motorcade to the National Constitution Center, according to a flier circulating on social media.

Two Mummers clubs have endorsed the event, but organizers say attendees will be there in their personal capacities and not as Mummers. One group will offer a shuttle service departing from Tankies Tavern, Brothers Two Bar, and Big Charlie’s Saloon to the gathering location.

Participants in the event will be mainly gathering at Sixth and Callowhill Streets, which has been sectioned off by Trump volunteers for supporters to wave signs, wear MAGA gear, and “give [Trump] a welcome that only Pennsylvania can deliver.” The group may also gather at other locations along the motorcade route.

U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.) and Wesley Hunt (R., Texas) with the Black Conservative Federation bus tour are also expected to stop by to join the crowd, according to the events page.

The Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania will be holding a demonstration on Independence Mall between Fifth and Sixth Streets.

The group will be showing what they call “abortion victim photos” during thedemonstration, which will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. and will target Harris’ position on abortion rights.

Harris supports restoring federal protections for abortion. The issue has been a major point of discussion during the 2024 presidential election, the first held after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022.

Harris’ stance is a major motivator for Democratic voters. Though Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the Supreme Court decision overturning the federal right to abortion, he has been less straightforward about his stance in 2024.

On Monday, the Democratic National Committee rolled out billboards in English and Spanish ahead of Tuesday’s debate. Some criticize Project 2025 — the extreme conservative agenda that Trump has been trying to distance himself from.

Others are more blunt. “Trump hates Philly,” one reads, saying the former president “attacked our elections, tried to suppress our vote,” and “claimed ‘bad things’ happen here.” The latter refers to a viral moment from a 2020 presidential debate when Trump said, “Bad things happen in Philadelphia,” while sowing doubt in the integrity of the 2020 election.

The billboards can be found at various locations on major thoroughfares in and near the city, including I-95, I-76, and I-676.

The DNC will also have kiosks on five college campuses in the Philadelphia area, including Temple, Drexel, and the University of Pennsylvania, urging students to “Google Project 2025.” The committee will also distribute fliers across campuses, and an ad about reproductive rights under the Trump administration will be projected on a mobile billboard near university campuses.

“The stakes are high this November, and tomorrow, Vice President Harris will lay out her vision for Pennsylvania and the nation, where nobody is above the law, every vote counts, and we chart a new way forward together,” DNC spokesperson Addy Toevs said in a statement.

The RNC did not provide any details of billboards or advertisements, but Kush Desai, a Trump spokesperson in Pa., said in a statement the former president’s “commonsense message to make America Wealthy, Safe, Strong, and Great Again stands for itself and is reaching the eyes, ears, hearts, and minds of Pennsylvanians.”

“But good luck to the Democrats’ billboard ad blitz to sell Pennsylvanians on another four years of rising prices and open borders policies bringing crime and drugs to Pennsylvania communities under Kamala Harris,” Desai said.

PETA, the animal rights organization, will position its mouse mascot near the Independence Visitor Center at Sixth and Market Streets at 7 p.m., to urge Harris and Trump to take a stand against animal testing.

The mouse, which also appeared at the June presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden and at the Democratic and Republican conventions, will bear the message: “Save Me and $22 Billion: End NIH Animal Experiments!”

“PETA calls on both candidates to redirect taxpayers’ money to modern, human-relevant research that leaves animals in peace,” PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo said in a news release.

Staff writer Jesse Bunch contributed to this article.