Atlanta

Channel 2 gets exclusive access to intelligence operations center for Super Bowl LIII

ATLANTA — Super Bowl LIII is now just 11 days away and law enforcement officials say safety is a top priority.

On Wednesday afternoon, Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant got the closest look yet at a critical part of the massive effort to keep thousands of visitors and fans safe during the big game.

[READ: Channel 2 gives you exclusive view of Super Bowl fun]

While the FBI reports no credible threats against the Super Bowl or the events leading up to it, Diamant got an exclusive look at where an army of analysts will spend the next 11 days looking out for them.

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“It’s a big lift for us, definitely,” said Atlanta field office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Murang Pak.

Pak, the bureau's point person for the big game, agreed to show Diamant around the intelligence operations center, which is the hub for the safety operation underway for Super Bowl LIII.

[READ: Heads up, drivers: Multiple roads close for Super Bowl events beginning today]

"Like any other case we that we work, intelligence feeds the operations, so it is critical," Pak said. "Our job is to protect the American people, so because the Super Bowl is such a high-profile event, we're taking extra steps with additional resources."

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Pak couldn’t talk about specific strategies.

“A lot of the information, intelligence that we collect, is on the secret side, or the top-secret side,” he told Diamant. “Acts of terrorism, whether it involves bombs, whether it involves biothreats, radiological threats, and anybody that would try to harm the attendees of these events.”

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The operations center allows agents to share information very quickly with representatives from different metro law enforcement agencies. And should an incident actually happen, there will be critical incident response teams ready to react.

“There’s a lot of pressure to make sure that this event goes off well,” Pak said.

Adding to it, much of the federal force assigned to protect the Super Bowl will be working for free unless the now month-long government shutdown ends.

[READ: Government shutdown could impact air traffic planning ahead of Super Bowl]

But Pak said the shutdown won't have an impact on safety.

“Knowing that they took an oath to protect the American people no matter what is happening in our personal lives,” he said.

Pak told Diamant that the public plays a key role in their intelligence gathering.

They're urging anyone who sees anything they feel is suspicious to report it and let agents sort it out.