As President-elect Joe Biden makes his way to heavily fortified Washington, D.C., the Defense Department confirmed 12 National Guard members have been deemed possible threats and removed from the force of more than 25,000 National Guard members now providing security in the capital city.
“If there’s any identification or anything whatsoever that that needs to be looked into out of an abundance of caution, we automatically pull those personnel off the line and make sure that they’re not part of the mission set,” the Guard bureau chief, Gen. Dan Hokanson, told reporters on Tuesday.
Hokanson declined to confirm if the 12 individuals were specifically linked to extremism. Federal officials have said there is evidence that right-wing extremist group leaders and members were among those who rioted inside and outside the legislative hall earlier this month.
Following riots that rocked the Capitol on Jan. 6, the inauguration was declared a “national special security event,” and enhanced FBI vetting began for Guard members from all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia charged with providing security before and during events that will include Biden being sworn in as the new commander in chief.
Two of the 12 were removed for “inappropriate” texts or social media messages, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said. One was reported through his chain of command, while another was reported anonymously.
“Those individuals have been removed,” said Hoffman. “They will not be at the Capitol, and if we uncover anyone else sending inappropriate messages or [who] has flags that have been identified by our law enforcement partners, they will be removed as well.”
The remaining 10 individuals were flagged as persons of concern in the FBI vetting process, which looks at criminal history and possible connections to extremist groups. Rather than launch an investigation, the Defense Department simply sent them home.
“We’re not asking questions right now,” Hoffman explained. “We’re out of an abundance of caution taking action and immediately removing them from the line of duty.”
