12 National Guard members dismissed from Biden inauguration duties

Army National Guard removed 12 members from their role as president-elect Joe bidenJoe Biden: Woman accused of attempting to sell Pelosi laptop to arrested Russians Trump gets lowest job approval rating in recent days as President Trump decides to lift travel restrictions on coronavirus in Europe and Brazilthe safety of the inauguration, according to General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the army of the Office of the National Guard.

Two people were flagged for “inappropriate comments or texts” – one identified by their chain of command and another through anonymous reports – while 10 others were identified by the FBI through a “standard” check performed on them. attendees before all openings, Hokanson told reporters on Tuesday.

The Associated Press reported earlier Tuesday that the two guards were sent home after discovering they had links to militias from right-wing fringe groups, although no conspiracy against Biden has been found.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the group of 10 other people were reported during the FBI verification process “for a number of different reasons unrelated to the events here.”

“These are verification efforts that identify any questionable behavior in the past or any potential connection to questionable behavior not just related to extremism,” Hoffman said alongside Hokanson. “It’s a lot to look back on anything that could potentially flag in a criminal background check, anything that could show up in a civilian database that is being cleaned up by our partners. We take no risk. All that is reported, if there is a reason why someone’s name is brought to the attention of the command, it is removed from the line.

Hoffman added that the Pentagon “will ask questions later and verify if action needs to be taken” by law enforcement or the individual’s chain of command.

About 25,000 National Guard service members have been deployed to DC to assist with security ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration following the violent insurgency on the U.S. Capitol on Jan.6. The Electoral College wins.

The attack has left five dead and more than 100 arrests to date, with a handful of current and former military personnel linked to the riot.

The FBI has since started performing background checks on guards activated for the inauguration, a move stemming from fears among defense officials that security officials at the event could participate in an insider attack.