The FBI has reportedly begun vetting National Guard members who will be guarding the inauguration in DC for extremist ideologies such as ‘white nationalism’:
DC EXAMINER – Fears have emerged that some Guard members may hold extremist views, such as the white nationalist and anti-government views espoused by rioters.
Those fears were affirmed by a senior defense official last week.
“We know that some groups actively attempt to recruit our personnel into their cause, or actually encourage their members to join the military for the purpose of acquiring skills and experience,” the official told Pentagon journalists.
Pentagon director for defense intelligence Garry Reid told reporters that all military personnel have undergone background investigations, are subject to continuous evaluation, and are enrolled in an insider threat program.
“Simply put, we will not tolerate extremism of any sort in DOD,” he said.
The National Special Security Event status invoked ahead of the inauguration further integrates coordination of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
The Army also said in a statement that it is working with the Secret Service to determine which service members require additional background screening.
The capital has all but come to a grinding halt in the days before America’s handover of power, with police and military checkpoints dotting the city and seven-foot, nonscalable fences protecting major government buildings.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said recently that online chatter indicates more violent activity may be attempted.
“We are seeing an extensive amount of concerning online chatter,” Wray said at a briefing of Vice President Mike Pence last week. “Right now, we are tracking for potential armed protest.”
I don’t really have a problem with the FBI, Secret Service and DOD trying to weed out potential infiltrators in the ranks of the National Guard. But why haven’t they done this before? This isn’t the first time the National Guard has been mobilized to protect DC. They were deployed
last year en masse to protect the Lincoln memorial and other sites from BLM protesters. Why suddenly are they being vetted for ‘white nationalism’ now? If anything, I would expect them to keep a running tab, if you will, on each member of the National Guard.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it just seems to me that there is a lot of ‘hyping’ in the media at what might happen during the inauguration, as if this one is special or something because Trump is president. However we saw violent protests four years ago when Trump was inaugurated and I expect no less than that this year. Ok maybe a little less, considering that they are going to have 20,000 National Guardsmen deployed around the city.