A senior police officer has urged those who wish to protest during Donald Trump's upcoming visit to Scotland to stay within the law.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said the priority would be ensuring the US president has a "peaceful and safe" visit to the country.
The five-day policing operation, known as Operation Roll, will require "significant" resources, Bond said, requiring Police Scotland to draw on mutual aid agreements with other forces.
The exact numbers of police involved have not been revealed but it is expected to require Police Scotland's entire cadre of police liaison officers.
The White House has confirmed Trump will visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire between July 25 and 29. He will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney during his private trip.
The visit is expected to trigger widespread protests, similar to the demonstrations that took place during his last visit to Scotland.
Bond encouraged protest groups to discuss their plans with police ahead of the visit to ensure safety.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Bond said: "As you can imagine, it is a large-scale, complex operation, but actually that's something that Police Scotland is immensely experienced at doing."
The policing plan involves local, national and specialist officers from Police Scotland as well as other forces.
Police are working on the assumption there will be protests in Ayrshire, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Bond added.
Bond said Police Scotland will take a "proportionate" approach to ensure people can protest safely, with the force offering to engage with demonstrators ahead of time on a "no surprises" basis.
However, she said there is nothing at this stage to give her "specific concern" about violence.
Speaking to the PA news agency, she also said that concerns raised by the Scottish Police Federation are "being resolved".
The organisation, which represents rank and file officers, had said workforce agreements around health and safety may be breached.
"The key very much is to make sure the President of the United States can come, enjoy a peaceful and safe visit to Scotland and ensure Police Scotland is able to maintain delivery of services to the rest of the community within Scotland over the period of his visit," Bond said.
She added: "I would appeal to people obviously to stay within the bounds of peaceful protest. I'd be really clear however that abusive, threatening behaviour, any activity that's intended to disrupt events or in any way that poses a risk to public safety is not legitimate protest and will potentially require an intervention by policing."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
