The Guardian – Jan 19, 2021

Virginia National Guard soldiers march across the east from of the U.S. Capitol on their way to their guard posts in Washington on Jan. 16, 2021.

Thousands of military personnel guarding Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president on Wednesday are being vetted by the FBI amid fears of an insider attack.

The biggest ever security operation for a presidential transition has turned swaths of Washington into a fortress, barricades, razor wire and 7ft fences erected to prevent a repeat of the deadly 6 January attack on the US Capitol by a mob incited by Donald Trump.

Christopher Miller, the acting defence secretary, said the Pentagon would vet National Guardsmen in Washington and thanked the FBI for its assistance: “This type of vetting often takes place by law enforcement for significant security events. However, in this case the scope of military participation is unique. The DC National Guard is also providing additional training to service members as they arrive in DC that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command,” he said in a statement.

“While we have no intelligence indicating an insider threat, we are leaving no stone unturned in securing the capital,” Miller said.

Hundreds of troops wearing combat fatigues, body armour and helmets could be seen outside the heavily fortified Capitol building, Library of Congress and supreme court on Monday afternoon. Workers were busy attaching coils of razor wire to the top of the surrounding fence.

Inside the Capitol’s visitor centre, typically humming with tourists, dozens more military personnel were visible as well as rows of cots where helmets and backpacks were resting.

National guard personnel train part-time while holding civilian jobs or attending college. Some 25,000 members – more than double the number at previous inaugurations – are pouring into Washington from across the country, at short notice.

There are concerns that some of the very people assigned to protect the city could present a threat to the incoming president and other dignitaries, the Associated Press reported. Their names will be fed through an FBI database for any evidence of connections to investigations or terrorism or other red flags.

Ryan McCarthy, the army secretary, told the AP guard members were receiving training on how to identify potential insider threats, although no hard evidence had come to light.

“We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” he said, adding: “We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this.”

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