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- The National Guard revealed it would be doing additional vetting of guardsmen serving as security during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
- The group made the move following the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol Building in which several members of law enforcement, and at least one National Guardsmen, were charged with participating in the insurrection.
- A spokesperson for the Guard said guardsmen are being told, “if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command.”
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The National Guard is running additional background checks on its guardsmen ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, in an attempt to weed out potential extremists.
The move comes following the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol Building in which a corporal in the Virginia National Guard, Jacob Fracker, was one of several members of law enforcement arrested in connection with the riots.
National Guard spokesperson Major Matt Murphy, USAF, told Insider the reserve branch was working with the Secret Service and the FBI to determine “which service members supporting the national special security event for the Inauguration require additional background screening.”
Murphy said the Guard is also conducting additional training “that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command.”
Fracker, a National Guard reservist, and his Rocky Mount Police Department co-worker Thomas Robertson were both charged with federal offenses after they took a selfie at the riots, and posted it on social media. While neither man was on-duty at the time of the insurrection, both have been placed on administrative leave.
The FBI continues to review footage from the insurrection to identify additional participants with law enforcement and military ties.
While the Secret Service is overseeing the security logistics for the inauguration, the Guard, along with local law enforcement and military groups, will be taking part in providing the actual muscle for the event.
In previous years, inauguration ceremonies have been threatened by foreign terrorist groups and sympathizers, but this year, said Murphy, the focus is on continuing to identify people who participated in or were sympathetic to the attack at the capitol.
“Any type of activity that involves violence, civil disobedience, or a breach of the peace may be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or under state or federal law,” he said.
Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told the AP that “If there’s any indication that any of our soldiers or airmen are expressing things that are extremist views, it’s either handed over to law enforcement or dealt with the chain of command immediately.”
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