FBI vets thousands of troops amid fears of insider attack on Biden inauguration

  • Extra checks to prevent repeat of 6 January attack on Capitol
  • National guard plays down fears of extremism within ranks
  • US politics – live coverage

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.”

At least two active-duty service members or national guard members have been arrested in connection with the Capitol assault. 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 investigation last year from the FBI, 68 of which were related to current and former service members, the Washington Post reported.

The national guard played down fears of extremism in its ranks. Maj Gen William Walker, commanding general of the DC national guard, told MSNBC: “I don’t have any concerns because it’s a layered scrub. The FBI is scrubbing, the Secret Service gives out the credentials and then we have other agencies helping with the scrub as well. We really are pretty sure we know who is out here supporting us.”

But Washington remains on edge amid fears of attacks by far-right militants, white supremacists and other radical groups encouraged by Trump’s claims that the election was rigged – claims repeatedly tossed out of court and rejected by the US Department of Justice and Republican election officials in battleground states.

Five people including a Capitol police officer died in the mayhem on 6 January, 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, with former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama and their wives. Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will be among the performers. Attendance will be scaled down because of 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 FBI to three police departments.

The Capitol was temporarily closed on Monday after a fire broke out at a homeless encampment, Capitol police said. All participants in a rehearsal for the inauguration were evacuated into the building, Reuters reported, before the Secret Service said there was no threat to the public.

State capitols across the US stayed on alert. Weekend protests were calm and thinly attended but some pro-Trump demonstrators carried weapons. On Monday Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, said he would skip the inauguration to guard against the possibility of violence in his state capital, Albany.

On Monday – a public holiday celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King – Trump remained behind closed doors at a mostly deserted White House. Biden, wearing black cap, dark glasses, black mask and blue and yellow gloves, stood at a conveyor belt packing beans and rice for a food bank in Philadelphia.

Trump was reportedly planning to issue more than 100 pardons as his last major act in office. The president met his son-in-law Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump and senior advisers on Sunday to thrash out a lengthy list of requests, the Post reported.

Trump will be the first outgoing president to skip his successor’s swearing-in since Andrew Johnson did not attend the inauguration of Ulysses S Grant in 1869. Johnson, like Clinton, was impeached. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice.

Trump has requested a departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews with a military band and red carpet, ABC News reported.

He will then head to his luxury estate, Mar-a-Lago, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to begin an uncertain future. Impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting violence against the US government, he is awaiting a trial in the Senate and a potential ban from running for office.

By the time Biden takes the stage on Wednesday, the death toll from coronavirus in the US will in all likelihood have passed 400,000. The pandemic is among “four crises” identified by the new president – along with the economy, climate change and racial injustice.

Biden is set to hit the ground running by reversing many of Trump’s most contentious policies with a flurry of executive orders, returning the US to the Paris climate agreement and Iran nuclear deal, accelerating the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines and canceling an immigration ban on some Muslim-majority countries.

Kamala Harris, the vice-president-elect, resigned her Senate seat on Monday. She will be replaced by the California secretary of state, Alex Padilla.

Contributor

David Smith in Washington

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Fears over Biden inauguration security mount after US Capitol attack
Security levels being ramped up significantly for Biden’s swearing-in as some warn of ‘persistent challenge over the next months’

Ed Pilkington

09, Jan, 2021 @7:30 AM

Article image
Biden will appeal for unity as US braces for violence by Trump supporters
America on edge as troops guard capitols and president-elect prepares executive orders to reverse Trump on climate, Iran, Covid and more

Richard Luscombe, with Julian Borger and Lois Beckett in Washington

17, Jan, 2021 @11:34 PM

Article image
Trump to hold early morning sendoff ceremony on Biden inauguration day
Outgoing president has issued invites for event taking place in Maryland at 8am on Wednesday

Joanna Walters in New York and Martin Belam in London

18, Jan, 2021 @9:44 PM

Article image
Biden to target Covid and the economy amid stack of orders in first 100 days
Analysis: The incoming president is pushing a huge stimulus plan, and wants action on vaccines, racial justice and climate change

Daniel Strauss in Washington

19, Jan, 2021 @1:13 PM

Article image
'To heal, we must remember': Biden holds memorial for 400,000 US Covid victims – as it happened
Event at the Lincoln Memorial offers ‘national moment of unity’ to honor the lives lost to Covid-19, tweets Jill Biden – follow live

Maanvi Singh (now), Joan E Greve and Martin Belam (earlier)

20, Jan, 2021 @2:49 AM

Article image
Biden inauguration: 25,000 national guard vetted over insider attack fears as state protests fizzle
FBI conducting vast security sweep as Sunday’s protests see law enforcement and media outnumber members of ‘Boogaloo Bois’

Lois Beckett in Washington and Jason Wilson in Salem, Oregon

18, Jan, 2021 @3:39 AM

Article image
Joe Biden's inauguration: when is it and what can we expect?
Following the US Capitol attack, and also due to the pandemic, Biden and Harris will be sworn in at a scaled-down event

Kenya Evelyn in Washington

16, Jan, 2021 @7:30 AM

Article image
Trump to issue more than 100 pardons before Biden sworn in
President has been warned against self-pardon, according to White House officials

Martin Pengelly in New York, Luke Harding and agencies

19, Jan, 2021 @8:37 AM

Article image
Trump tweets raise fears for Mueller but White House says he's safe
Tweet claims FBI deputy never took notes when meeting president as Jeff Flake says president ‘seems to be building towards’ firing special counsel

Joanna Walters in New York

19, Mar, 2018 @12:04 PM

Article image
'This is democracy's day': Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States
Millions watch inauguration from home as chief justice administers oath of office at Capitol, two weeks after mob riot

Lauren Gambino in Washington

21, Jan, 2021 @3:33 AM