FBI vetting National Guard members involved in securing US Capitol
The head of the DC National Guard said Monday that the FBI is vetting troops involved in securing the US Capitol around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration to prevent any insider threats.
The enhanced screening measures come as thousands of National Guard members are patrolling the streets of the nation’s capital ahead of Inauguration Day.
“What happens is they’re screened before they leave their state and what it is is a credentialing process so they’re screened and they’re repeatedly screened until they are actually put on the street,” Major General William Walker told ABC’s Good Morning America.
Walker did not say that the screening included specific questions about the members’ beliefs surrounding the legitimacy of the election, but they are carrying out enhanced background screening.
“No, it’s all about the background. So, a regular background check is enhanced with more screening, more details and it’s layered so the FBI is part of it, the Secret Service is part of it and once they are certain that there’s no insider threat then that soldier, guardsman or airman is given a credential,” he said.
Walker stressed that members of National Guard are screened upon their entry to the service and this is another layer.
CNN has previously reported that the US Army is working with the Secret Service to determine if there are soldiers who will be part of the National Guard contingent providing security at the inauguration who require additional background screening.
The DC National Guard is also providing additional training to service members as they arrive in the nation’s capital that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command,” an Army spokesperson said in a written statement to CNN last week.
“There is no place for extremism in the military and we will investigate each report individually and take appropriate action,” the statement said.
“The Army is committed to working closely with the FBI as they identify people who participated in the violent attack on the Capitol to determine if the individuals have any connection to the Army,” the statement said while adding that any type of activity that “involves violence, civil disobedience, or a breach of peace,” may be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or under state and federal law.
Current Defense Department policy requires all service members be trained annually under a program that requires department personnel to report “any information regarding known or suspected extremist behavior that could be a threat to the department or the United States,” the statement said.
