After careful consideration, a dozen members of the United States National Guard were removed from their posts and removed from the team responsible for securing the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Joe Biden.
The review was intended to review possible ties to the far right, Pentagon officials said Tuesday (Jan.19).
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A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said control of members of the National Guard went beyond links to extremist groups.
One member of the Guard was removed from his post after disturbing text messages, and another after reporting to a hotline, General Daniel Hokanson, head of the National Guard bureau, told reporters.
"As a precaution, we have decided to act immediately and have removed them from their positions on Capitol Hill, and the events taking place there
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Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.
Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller on Sunday said the FBI was helping the U.S. military control more than 25,000 National Guard troops deployed to help protect the U.S. Capitol, amid fears for the safety of Joe Biden's investiture ceremony on Wednesday.
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The monitoring has continued since last week and the FBI is also working to find out whether active members of the Guard took part in the Jan.6 riot on Capitol Hill by supporters of incumbent President Donald Trump.
Last week, the Virginia National Guard said Jacob Fracker, a police officer accused of participating in the violence that unfolded in Congress on January 6 while off duty, was a corporal in his state guard.