Insider attack feared days before Biden’s inauguration, service members in DC vetted by FBI

Defense officials in Washington, D.C., are concerned about an insider attack from service members deployed to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all 25,000 National Guard troops in the city, according to Fox News.

The U.S. Army issued a statement late Sunday obtained by Fox News that said it is working with the Secret Service to determine if any service members on hand need additional background screening. The statement said that all service members are familiar with the Threat Awareness and Reporting Program, which "requires department personnel to report any information regarding known or suspected extremist behavior that could be a threat to the department or the U.S."

Officials increased the number of National Guard members who will be deployed in Washington during the presidential inauguration from 15,000 to 20,000 on Wednesday, more than three times the number of U.S. troops currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

The AP reported that the Secret Service is in charge of event security, but there is a wide variety of military and law enforcement personnel involved, ranging from the National Guard and the FBI to Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Park Police.