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FBI vets 25,000 National Guard over fears of insider attack at Biden inauguration
Extra checks are being done to confirm there are no concerns over the thousands of personnel who will be protecting the event.
Monday 18 January 2021 07:01, UK
Fears about a potential insider attack at Joe Biden's inauguration have prompted the FBI to vet all 25,000 National Guard troops who will be on duty.
Officials are taking "second, third looks at every one of the individuals", said US Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.
Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats, but Mr McCarthy said they had not found anything of concern so far.
The National Guard have been arriving in Washington to help protect the event amid concerns there could more violence after the US Capitol riots of two weeks ago.
The number flooding into the city is at least two-and-a-half times that of previous inaugurations.
It comes after the FBI said last week that it had separately identified more than 200 suspects threatening violence at the ceremony and had picked up an "extensive amount of concerning online chatter".
Members of the military are routinely checked for extremist links, but the FBI screening is an extra layer and shows the meticulous planning to secure the event.
MORE AT LINK - https://news.sky.com/story/fbi-vets-25-000-national-guard-over-fears-of-insider-attack-at-biden-inauguration-12191193