There is no question that Inauguration Day on Wednesday will not look anything like others in American history. The city of Washington, D.C., is under a very tight security blanket in general, and Monday it was learned that the FBI and U.S. defense officials are worried about some sort of insider attack or other threat from actual service members who will be involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden.
That has led the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the ceremonies.
Also on Monday morning, the U.S. Capitol was put on lockdown do to what was called an “external security threat.” The area where the inauguration is scheduled to occur, the West Front of the Capitol was evacuated as a safety precaution, It was later determined that there was a fire at a homeless camp near that area, which was extinguished, but it illustrates how tense things are and how serious they are taking anything that appears suspicious.
As far as a potential insider attack, the U.S. Sammy released a statement Sunday saying it is working with the Secret Service in order to determine if any of the service members who will be working the event need additional screening.
The 25,000 National Guard members will be at least two and a half times the number used for previous inaugurals.
Unlike like other insider threats that were triggered from concerns of homegrown insurgents radicalized by al-Qiaida or other terrorist groups, this particular instance the threat appears to be a concern that some far right radical groups upset with the result of the election might attempt something to disrupt Wednesday’s events.
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