Two National Guard Members Removed From Biden Inauguration Over Ties To Far-Right Groups, Report Says

Two Army National Guard members were removed from their posts as part of the mission to secure President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday after they were found to have ties to far-right fringe groups, two top officials said, according to the Associated Press.

The Army official and intelligence official said that no plot against Biden was found, and declined to identify the fringe groups or what unit to which they belonged. They anonymously reported the two members’ removal to the AP.

“Due to operational security, we do not discuss the process nor the outcome of the vetting process for military members supporting the inauguration,” the National Guard Bureau told the AP.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The FBI on Monday began vetting all 25,000 National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C. ahead of Biden’s inauguration amid rising concern that some could potentially sabotage the security mission, though no evidence suggesting a threat against Biden from troops has been discovered thus far.

Though only 10,000 National Guard troops were supposed to be deployed to the nation’s capital ahead of Biden’s inauguration, the number was more than doubled following the violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and multiple reports that far-right groups were plotting attacks in D.C. in the weeks after.