© Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesTwo National Guard members have been relieved of their inauguration security duties over ties to far-right militia groups.
Twelve National Guard members were pulled from inauguration duties for
reasons that included alarming social-media posts, it was revealed a day before the most heavily guarded swearing-in the United States has ever seen.
The move came after background checks revealed ties to far-right militia groups or extremist postings in the guardsmen's online histories,
The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials from the US intelligence community as well as the Army confirmed the precaution to the Associated Press.
No specific plot against incoming Democratic President Joe Biden or others involved in the inauguration was found, the officials said.
The dozen troops involved were relieved of their inauguration duty and sent home, according to the report, though
it was not immediately clear if they would face further ramifications.
They were not publicly identified by name, nor were the far-right groups with which some are allegedly affiliated.Of the 12 members,
two were sent home for inappropriate comments or text messages related to the inauguration, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard, told the wire service.
One was reported through the chain of command, while the other was outed by an anonymous tipster.The other 10 were ousted over issues that included possible previous criminal activity, but not directly related to the inauguration, according to the general.
"Much of the information is unrelated to the events taking place at the Capitol or to the concerns that many people have noted on extremism," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told the AP. "These are vetting efforts that identify any questionable behavior in the past or any potential link to questionable behavior, not just related to extremism.
"We're,
out of an abundance of caution, taking action and immediately removing them from the line of duty at the Capitol and the events taking place," he went on to say. "And then we will address them, whether it's through law enforcement if necessary or through their own chain of command."
The concerns
came to light two days after it was revealed that the FBI was conducting a last-minute review of the approximately 25,000 National Guard members deployed to Washington, DC, for the inauguration — roughly five times the current US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.The crush of troops has been
streaming into DC since supporters of President Trump
stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6 in a riot that left five people dead.
In other security measures taken in the wake of the deadly invasion,
a 7-foot-high, nonscalable fence has been erected around the Capitol,
and the crowd capacity for Wednesday's inauguration — already pared down due to the pandemic — has been scaled back further.
Additionally,
tourist attractions like the Washington Monument have been temporarily closed to visitors and thirteen DC subway stations have been shuttered.
At least three people have been busted in recent days for entering or attempting to enter the sprawling frozen zone around the Capitol, among them two Virginia men carrying firearms.
Despite the security concerns, Biden has said that he intends to take the oath of office outdoors,
in keeping with tradition.
Comment: Little of this inauguration reflects anything that has gone before it, it's more likely that this is an ominous start of a 'new normal' tradition.
On the rather vague reasoning for the of particular troops:
RT
reports that a democratic Rep. thinks that simply being a white male that supported Trump provides sufficient cause for suspicion that they may betray Biden at the inauguration:
With the FBI screening National Guard troops for potential animosity toward Joe Biden, Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen reckons the soldiers' gender and skin color are proof enough to suspect them of plotting "insurrection."
Following the pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Biden's inauguration on Wednesday will take place in a locked-down Washington DC, behind security fencing and a human wall of more than 20,000 soldiers. And, in an unprecedented move, both the army and FBI are vetting each and every one of them for links to right-wing extremism.
© Rod Lamkey / ReutersMembers of the US National Guard pictured outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 18, 2021
Guardsmen, like any other military personnel, take an oath to defend the Constitution of the US, and not a political loyalty test. Cohen's suggestion that the majority of troops should be viewed with suspicion was a step too far even for CNN, whose host, Don Lemon, compared President Donald Trump's supporters last week to the "Klan" and "Nazis."
"To have voted for Trump does not make you an insider threat," CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto responded. "Is there anything you've seen to substantiate just how broad this insider threat may be, if it exists?"
Cohen admitted he hadn't seen any evidence to back up his claims, but went on to say that "if you draw a circle" around "people who were for Trump and not for Biden," everyone in that circle would be "folks that you'd be suspect of (sic)."
Online, conservatives hammered Cohen's narrow vision of Biden's promised "unity and healing."
"They just can't help themselves," one wrote. "Our troops are defending the Capitol but Dems still hate them."
That Cohen made his racially charged statement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day added an extra layer of irony, given King's exhortation that his fellow Americans be judged not "by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
The mainstream media has been suspicious of Trump's supporters for a long time, and since the events on Capitol Hill, reporters have described them as "extremists," and "domestic terrorists," and a movement that should be "cleansed" from public life. Much like Cohen, journalists have called Trump's most vocal supporters "white supremacists" who voted for Trump out of "toxic masculinity." Even Trump's black and minority supporters were described in a Washington Post op-ed last week as suffering from "multiracial Whiteness."
Another Rep.
thinks that the police state furnishings should become a permanent fixture in DC:
Freshman Representative Ritchie Torres has introduced a bill that would "direct the Architect of the Capitol to design and install an appropriate fence around the perimeter of the United States Capitol, including the East Front and the West Front."
© Reuters / Joshua RobertsRazor wire is seen on a fence around the US Capitol as National Guard members stand guard ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, in Washington, US, January 17, 2021
Torres was elected in November to represent New York's 15th Congressional District, and the "first gay Afro Latino" in Congress has since sponsored a slew of bills, including measures to grant statehood to Washington, DC, to impeach President Donald Trump, to move toward granting reparations to African Americans, and to establish a commission to "investigate the seditious attack on the United States Capitol."
The proposal - which attempts to revive a previously rejected scheme dubbed the 'Capitol Gateway Plan' - was met with skepticism by netizens, some suggesting the ramped-up security perimeter would turn "Capitol Hill into a supermax" prison. "Notice the fence to keep people in, not out," one joked.
Another commenter submitted a possible model for the Capitol's fence design, arguing the one used at Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta detention center "looks very safe."
Others saw hypocrisy in Torres' plan, recalling that, for many Democrats, proposals for a border wall between the US and Mexico were deemed "brutally repressive in 2017," yet suddenly became a "matter of urgent national security in 2021."
The intense security measures around the nation's capital following the violent disturbance on January 6 have drawn comparisons to a theater of war, with the Secret Service even dividing the city into "Green" and "Red" zones, reminiscent of the heavily fortified area in Baghdad set up to ward off suicide bombings after the US invasion of Iraq.
The FBI circulate seemingly unsubstantiated rumours that QAnon followers and "lone wolves"
pose some kind of threat to the inauguration:
The FBI also says that it observed people downloading and sharing maps of locations in the District, and discussed how they could be used to interfere in security.
However, the briefing did not identify specific plots to attack the inauguration that would be similar to the Jan. 6 riot.
The FBI declined to comment on the briefing to The Hill but referred to remarks that FBI Director Christopher Wray gave on Jan. 14.
"We're monitoring all incoming leads, whether they're calls for armed protest, potential threats that grow out of the January 6 breach of the Capitol, or other kinds of potential threats leading up to inaugural events and in various other targets," he said in part. "We're latched up with all of our partners in that regard."
The Secret Service, which is taking over security for the inauguration, said in a statement to The Hill that it "takes all threats seriously and will continue to work with our federal, state, local and military partners to continue securing the 59th Inauguration based on the relevant intelligence available to the security community."
More than 100 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, including members of law enforcement and former military personnel.
Meanwhile a Pentagon chief contradicts these claims stating that there is currently no intelligence that suggests the FBI claims:
Acting defense secretary Christopher Miller said that while the military and FBI are pulling out all the stops for security ahead of Inauguration Day, including an intense vetting process for the 25,000 Guard troops to be deployed around Washington, DC, there is no indication of any plans for an inside job.
© Reuters / Caitlin OchsNational Guard troops stand watch outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 18, 2021.
The secretary added that the Guard would provide "additional training" to troops taking part in the DC security detail, telling them to report to their superiors "if they see or hear something that is not appropriate" among fellow troops, and that the FBI is helping the Pentagon in the vetting process.
"We're continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation," McCarthy said, though added that so far, there has not been any sign of a real threat.
For deeper insight check out SOTT radio's
Newsreal #33: Strange Days in DC - Military Checkpoints as US Capital Awaits 'Virtual Inauguration'
Comment: Little of this inauguration reflects anything that has gone before it, it's more likely that this is an ominous start of a 'new normal' tradition.
On the rather vague reasoning for the of particular troops:
RT reports that a democratic Rep. thinks that simply being a white male that supported Trump provides sufficient cause for suspicion that they may betray Biden at the inauguration: Another Rep. thinks that the police state furnishings should become a permanent fixture in DC: The FBI circulate seemingly unsubstantiated rumours that QAnon followers and "lone wolves" pose some kind of threat to the inauguration: Meanwhile a Pentagon chief contradicts these claims stating that there is currently no intelligence that suggests the FBI claims: For deeper insight check out SOTT radio's Newsreal #33: Strange Days in DC - Military Checkpoints as US Capital Awaits 'Virtual Inauguration'