Christopher Miller, the Pentagon chief, confirmed that National Guard members who are stationed in Washington D.C. will undergo expanded vetting by the Department of Defense and FBI before Inauguration Day.
Miller said in a statement on Monday there is no intelligence indicating an “insider threat,” but they are leaving “no stone unturned in securing the capital.”
Congressman Steve Cohen said the Guard is “predominately more conservative” and it’s likely 75 percent voted for President Donald J. Trump and are in the large class of folks “who might want to do something.”
“The [National] Guard is 90 some-odd percent male, and only about 20 percent of white males voted for Biden,” he said. “You’ve got to figure that in the Guard, which is predominantly more conservative … they’re probably not more than 25 percent of the people there protecting us that voted for Biden. The other 75 percent are in the large class of folks that might want to do something.”
Miller acknowledged the FBI has assisted in vetting the National Guard members.
According to Major General William Walker, soldiers are screened before they leave their state. They’re “repeatedly screened” until they’re actually put on the street.
This is a historic step taken by the government in terms of military control over its own American citizens.
