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The Bilderberg Group, a collection of top captains of industry and western government leaders, is gathering for its annual meeting this weekend under unprecedented security.
Reports from the Mariott Westfields Hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, indicate security officials have set up machine gun nests and are deploying satellite surveillance and other sophisticated monitoring equipment to keep guests safe.
Conspiracy theorists say the closed-door, invitation-only gatherings of 150 of the most powerful people in North America and Western Europe are ground zero for the New World Order, the place where the influential collude to steer the course of human history.
This year, 1,000 people are signed for an 'Occupy Bilderberg' protest, which is spurring the extra-tight security, according to right-wing journalist and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
As Guardian columnist Charlie Skelton puts it, Bilderberg isn't about the 1 percent -- it's the 0.001 percent.
Among the attendees of recent meetings are: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, World Bank president Robert Zoellick, European Commission head José Manuel Barroso, Queen Sofia of Spain and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The steering committee members include Marcus Agius, the chairman of Barclays; Mario Monte, the Italian Prime Minister; Craig Mundie, the Chief Research Officer for Microsoft; Peter Thiel, one of the venture capitalists behind Facebook; Kenneth Clarke, the British Secretary of Justice; and Jorma Ollila, the chairman of Royal Dutch Shell.
David Rockefeller is a key adviser.
Conspiracy theorists are floating the notion that members will 'anoint' Florida Sen Marco Rubio to become vice president on Mitt Romney's Republican ticket this year.
Bilderberg members say their meetings are simply gatherings of important people who come together to discuss the world's problems.
The Greek debt crisis and instability in the Eurozone are top considerations this year.
However, Mr Jones, a radio talk show host who runs a popular news website, reports that pressure from the occupy movement has organizers stepping up security.
Guests who had made reservations at the posh hotel in suburban Washington, DC, are being refunded and refused access.
One guest who was being kicked out of the hotel to make room for the Bilderberg conference claimed she saw machine gun nests being set up to guard against the protestors, Mr Jones claims.
He also claims that security officials are using sophisticated surveillance technology to tap the phones of protestors. Skelton, of the Guardian, says he witnessed hotel security staffers using iPhones to record anyone they saw in the hotel in the run-up to the conference.
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