Tuesday, 19 January 2021 (YJC) _ Twelve US Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission.
Twelve US Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after it was revealed that they have ties to the right-wing militia groups, according to the Associated Press.
"I'm not concerned as a large part of our organization. If you look at 25,000, we've had 12 identified and some of those they're just looking into, it may be unrelated to this but we want to make sure out of an abundance of caution that we do the right thing until that gets cleared up," General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a press briefing at the Pentagon Monday.
However, the removed members did not pose any threat to President-elect Joe Biden, two US officials confirmed. In addition, the two officials, a senior intelligence officer, and an Army official, did not reveal which fringe group the Guard members were part of or what unit they served in.
“Due to operational security, we do not discuss the process nor the outcome of the vetting process for military members supporting the inauguration," the Secret Service said in a statement, USA Today reported.
The US Pentagon is currently in the process of vetting 25,000 National Guard members who have been brought it to provide security for the January 20th inauguration event.
The FBI has already warned law enforcement that right-wing extremists, including QAnon followers, may pose as National Guard troops to breach inauguration security, the Washington Post first reported.
Source: Sputnik
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