The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is vetting all 25,000 US National Guard troops who will be involved in ensuring security at the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, DC to exclude insider attacks, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monda
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is vetting all 25,000 US National Guard troops who will be involved in ensuring security at the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, DC to exclude insider attacks, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday.
Last week, the US Defense Department said that it would provide 25,000 troops, an unprecedented number, to support the Biden inauguration on Wednesday in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riots.
"We're continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation," Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told AP.
At the same time, McCarthy and other officials said that the vetting did not reveal any issues and there is so far no evidence of any potential threats during the Wednesday event.
"We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this," McCarthy added.
The AP reported, citing former FBI national security supervisor David Gomez, that vetting in similar situations usually involves running Names through FBI watch-lists and databases to look for indications of possible threats.
According to the broadcaster, US law enforcement has been responding to potential insider threats since the September 11, 2001 attacks. AP mentioned that threats usually come from homegrown supporters of radicalized Islamist terrorist groups, while in the case of the upcoming inauguration the danger may come from supporters of outgoing US President Donald Trump, white supremacists and far-right militia.
On January 6, pro-Trump protesters stormed Capitol Hill in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying the presidential election victory. At least five people, including a female air force veteran, were killed and some 170 cases have been opened by police in connection with the riots. The US House of Representatives impeached Trump last week for inciting the riot.
