12 National Guards in Biden’s inauguration were excluded… “Extremism·Right-wing Militia Link”

Results of a total background investigation of 25,000 people in charge
“There seems to be no direct conspiracy against Biden-elect.”

[이미지출처=AP연합뉴스]

[아시아경제 이현우 기자] One day before US President-elect Joe Biden took office, 12 out of the 25,000 Army State National Guard troops who were deployed to guard the inauguration ceremony were removed from the mission. They were previously known to have expressed their views of extremism online or were associated with the right-wing militia.

According to foreign media such as the Associated Press, on the 19th (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense announced that 12 main defense forces were immediately excluded from the inaugural security mission. State Defense Force commander Daniel Hokanson said in a press briefing that day, one of them was removed from the mission when a text message with a problem related to the inauguration ceremony was heard, and the other was informed through reports that he had posted inappropriate posts about the inauguration ceremony. The remaining 10 were found to be linked to past right-wing militia activities.

Defense Ministry spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said at a briefing today, “We are taking immediate steps to remove them from inauguration security missions after providing sufficient warnings to the State Guard.” The Ministry of Defense did not mention where the 12 members of the national defense force came from, what units they were serving in, and what militias they were associated with.

“Because of operational security, we will not comment on the investigation process or results of the soldiers supporting the inauguration ceremony,” said the Defense Department’s National Defense Agency, which leads the state defense force. According to military authorities, no direct conspiracy against Biden-elect was found in the 12 members excluded from the mission.

Earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service (SS) jointly conducted a background check on all 25,000 State Defense Forces mobilized to guard Biden-elect inauguration. According to the US political media The Hill, the thorough investigation stems from concerns from defense officials that the State National Guard, who served as guard at the inauguration ceremony, could join the attack as an insider. Along with this, the SS is known to have delivered a warning to all State Guards gathered in Washington, DC prior to the inauguration of Biden’s inauguration, not to post online photos of the guard mission area and shelters and text describing them.

Reporter Lee Hyun-woo [email protected]