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Thousands of military personnel who were keeping Joe Biden’s nomination as US president on Wednesday are under scrutiny by the FBI amid fears of an insider attack.
Largest ever security operation for a presidential transition turned swathes of Washington into a fortress, barricades, barricades and 7-foot fences erected to prevent a repeat of the deadly Jan.6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a crowd incited by Donald Trump.
National Guard personnel train part-time while holding civilian jobs or attending university. Some 25,000 members – more than double the number at previous inaugurations – are flocking to Washington from across the country at short notice.
There are concerns that some of those charged with protecting the city may pose a threat to the new president and other dignitaries, the Associated Press reported. Their names will be populated by an FBI database for any evidence of links to investigations or terrorism or other red flags.
Ryan McCarthy, the secretary of the military, said members of the PA guard were being trained on how to identify potential insider threats, although no hard evidence was unearthed.
“We are continually monitoring the process and second and thirdly reviewing each of the individuals assigned to this operation,” he said, adding, “We have to be aware of this and we have to put all the mechanisms in place. in place to scrutinize those men and women who would support any operation like this.
At least two active duty members or members of the National Guard were arrested in connection with the assault on the Capitol. Video footage from inside the building suggests some rioters had military training and that there was a significant level of planning and coordination.
The Pentagon received 143 notifications of extremism-related investigations from the FBI last year, 68 of which involved current and former military personnel, the Washington Post reported.
The National Guard downplayed fears of extremism in its ranks. Major General William Walker, commanding general of the DC National Guard, told MSNBC: “I have no concerns because this is a layered scrub. The FBI is cleaning up, the Secret Service is giving out the credentials, and then we have other agencies helping with the cleanup as well. We are really sure that we know who is there to support us.
But Washington remains on edge amid fears of attacks by far-right activists, white supremacists and other radical groups encouraged by Trump’s claims the election was rigged – claims repeatedly dismissed out of hand. out of court and dismissed by the US Department of Justice and Republican election officials in Battlefield States.
Five people, including a Capitol Hill cop, died in the January 6 chaos, which included chants for the death of Vice President Mike Pence as he presided over the certification of Biden’s victory.
Pence will attend the inauguration, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama and their wives. Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will be among the performers. Participation will be reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Secret Service is in charge of security, but a wide variety of military and law enforcement personnel are also involved, from the National Guard and the FBI to three police departments.
The Capitol was temporarily closed on Monday after a fire broke out at a homeless camp, Capitol police said. All participants at a rehearsal for the inauguration were evacuated to the building, Reuters reported, before the Secret Service declared there was no threat to the public.
US state capitals have remained on alert. The weekend protests were quiet and uncrowded, but some pro-Trump protesters carried guns. On Monday, Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, said he would ignore the nomination to guard against the possibility of violence in his capital, Albany.
Monday – a public holiday celebrating Martin Luther King’s birthday – Trump remained behind closed doors in a mostly deserted White House. Biden, wearing a black cap, dark glasses, a black mask, and blue and yellow gloves, stood at a conveyor belt packing beans and rice for a food bank in Philadelphia.
Trump was planning to issue more than 100 pardons as his last major act in power. The president met with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump and senior advisers on Sunday to discuss a long list of demands, the Post reported.
Trump will be the first incumbent president to skip the swearing-in of his successor since Andrew Johnson failed to attend Ulysses S Grant’s inauguration in 1869. Johnson, like Clinton, was impeached. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice.
Trump called for a departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews with a military band and red carpet, ABC News reported.
He will then travel to his luxury estate, Mar-a-Lago, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to start an uncertain future. Indicted by the House of Representatives for inciting violence against the US government, he awaits a trial in the Senate and a possible ban from standing for election.
By the time Biden takes the stage on Wednesday, the death toll from the coronavirus in the United States will likely have passed 400,000. The pandemic is one of the “four crises” identified by the new president – along with the economy, climate change and racial injustice.
Biden is about to start by overturning many of Trump’s most controversial policies with a wave of executive orders, sending the United States back to the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal, speeding up delivery of Covid-19 vaccines and revoking an immigration ban. some predominantly Muslim countries.
Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect, resigned her Senate seat on Monday. She will be replaced by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
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