The FBI extreme security before the inauguration of Biden

National Guard outside the Washington Capitol.Rod Lamkey - Pool via CNP / AP

One day after Joe Biden is sworn in as president of the United States, the news that the FBI has been investigating the 25,000 members of the National Guard who will protect the act for a week to take extreme precautions has increased the degree of anxiety and concern for the safety of President-elect Joe Biden;

of the vice president, Kamala Harris, and of all the assistants to the inauguration of the democrat in the American capital.

The act comes just two weeks after the assault on the Capitol that was orchestrated by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.

It is not easy to investigate 25,000 people in such a short space of time, but the stakes are high.

In a normal inauguration, not after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, the deployment would have been much lower (between 8,000 and 10,000 troops).

According to the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, quoted by the Associated Press, those responsible for security are aware of the possible threat and have warned superiors to be very vigilant if they observe any problem or suspicious attitude within the ranks, according to January 20 has been approaching.

"We do not stop reviewing, one, two and even three times each of the individuals assigned to the operation" deployed in the nation's capital, McCarthy stressed.

The review being carried out by the FBI is in addition to the one routinely carried out by military commanders on their men on such occasions.

The usual precautions have been added on this occasion the fear that tomorrow something similar to what happened on January 6 could be repeated and the indications that some of the participants in the assault may have had the knowledge, more or less direct, from members of the US security forces.

Since 9/11, terrorism has been prioritized within US borders because, in many cases, individuals are radicalized in the US and join al Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS) or similar groups. .

But the threat hanging over Biden on the day of his inauguration is of another sign and has been fueled and reinforced by Trump fans such as white supremacists, the far right and other radical groups that have flagged the electoral fraud that he President announced even before the elections took place on November 3.

For McCarthy, the greatest concern would be a coordinated attack by groups of armed individuals, as well as the placement of explosives or other types of devices.

The Secretary of the Army also considers, after reviewing the spy reports, that there could be factions planning marches with weapons before the day of Biden's inauguration ceremony and probably after.

Among the extremist groups that participated in the assault on the Capitol, which left five dead, are the so-called Oath Keepers (created in 2009, they are governed under the constitutional motto of defending the country "against all enemies, foreign or domestic") and the Three Percenters (militia born in 2008 based on the misconception that only 3% of Americans fought in the war of independence against the British).

Stewart Rhodes, a prominent member of the Oath Keepers, predicted after election night last November that the nation was headed for civil war and that Biden's victory would never be recognized as legitimate.

Detained

Among the more than 100 detainees against whom the Department of Justice has already issued charges for their participation in the events of January 6 is Jon Schaffer, heavy metal guitarist from Indiana, member of the Oath Keepers and who turned himself in to the FBI last Sunday.

Schaffer also participated in a November rally in favor of Trump, declaring that they would never allow "a communist system."

"It's not going to happen," he said.

“If we get to that point there will be a bloodbath, believe me.

Nobody wants this to happen, but if they keep pushing us in that direction we will reach a point where we will have no other choice, "he added.

For the FBI, the misogynistic and racist group called the Proud Boys is a source of concern.

And yet, since the raid on Congress, its leaders have withdrawn from the protests and do not plan to rebel tomorrow either.

Its president, Enrique Tarrio, planned to be at the events on the 6th, but was arrested when he arrived in Washington on charges of destruction of property by burning a flag of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Tarrio assures that he is dissuading his members about their plans to go to armed marches in the coming days.

The Proud Boys, according to Tarrio, are "in freeze mode when it comes to demonstrations and no event is going to be organized for the next month."

False alarm

With a city under siege, in which its citizens every day wake up with new images and new headlines of what could have been a massacre on the Capitol on the 6th, tempers are in the range of psychosis.

For this reason, when a fire broke out in the vicinity of Congress yesterday, all the alarms went off.

The armored city before the inauguration of Democrat Joe Biden as president feared the worst.

It turned out to be an "excess of caution" -after the serious security failures experienced last day 6-, the Capitol Police covered their backs and alerted yesterday of an "external threat to security."

Immediately, the entrances to the Capitol were closed until what happened was clarified.

But until then, the authorities evacuated some areas and even recommended staying away from the windows of Congress, according to the CNN television network.

When the explanation came from the fire services, something relaxed the nerves.

It was a small fire that broke out in a tent where a homeless man lived.

But this city is going to be on collective and personal alert for a long time.

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