US National Guard, Secret Service and FBI conduct screening ahead of Biden's inauguration

National Guard soldiers stand guard at the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, January 14, 2021. Photo: THX/TTXVN

On January 17, General Daniel Hokanson, head of the US National Guard (NGB), said that US law enforcement agencies are screening members of this force to ensure they do not pose a security risk during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.

General Hokanson stressed that the NGB is coordinating with the Secret Service and FBI to screen all military personnel who will be deployed on January 20.

Following the January 6 Capitol riots, it emerged that some of those involved had or had ties to the military. The US military confirmed that about 25,000 National Guard troops would be deployed in Washington to protect Mr. Biden’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed concern about the risk of attacks on residential areas of the city.

According to Ms. Bowser, the Washington Police Department has also coordinated with federal law enforcement agencies and the US military to prepare a response plan for any attacks on residential areas in the capital.

On the same day, the US Department of Justice confirmed the arrest of Mr. Cuoy Griffin, a county councilman in New Mexico who had announced that he would bring a gun to Washington, DC to protest the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

According to documents posted on the department’s website, Mr. Griffin was arrested in Washington on charges related to the attack on the US Capitol building on January 6. He is also the founder of the group “Cowboys for Trump”.

Mr. Griffin was among thousands of people who stormed and rioted on Capitol Hill during a joint session of Congress to confirm President-elect Biden's victory.

On the same day, Twitter announced that it had locked the account of Marjorie Taylor Greene, a newly elected Republican Senator, on the grounds that this politician had repeatedly violated the platform's information posting policy.

Accordingly, Ms. Taylor Greene's Twitter account was temporarily locked for 12 hours after she made statements alleging election fraud in the state of Georgia.

Twitter said it had flagged at least two of Greene’s posts as potentially inciting violence. Greene is a staunch Trump supporter who has sparked controversy for publicly supporting the far-right group QAnon.

Senator Taylor Greene has protested Twitter's move. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green becomes the next politician to have her account suspended by Twitter.

Two days after the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, Twitter announced that it would permanently block President Trump's account on the social networking platform, citing the risk of further violence following the incident.

In addition to Twitter, Facebook has made a similar move with the US leader's official account with over 35 million followers.

In addition, Apple and Google simultaneously removed Parler from their app stores, while Amazon also made a similar move due to its alleged involvement in the riots at Capitol Hill.

Launched in 2018, Parler is a Twitter-like communications platform used by many conservatives in the US. It is seen as an alternative to Facebook or Twitter.

Violence broke out on January 6 in Washington, DC, when many supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol building while lawmakers from both houses were meeting to ratify Democratic candidate Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The riot left five people dead, including a police officer, and more than 50 police officers injured./.