Tue 21 December 2021:

According to a new review of the US Defense Department, nearly 100 service members actively participated in the January 6 Capitol attack carried out by Trump supporters.

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin ordered a review of the department’s policies on countering extremism within the ranks in February 2021. After suspicions that some members may have played a role in the horrifying Capitol riot in Washington, this investigation was launched.

According to the review, nearly 100 active duty or reserve members of the US military engaged in extremist activities that are prohibited for service members in the previous year, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

“The overwhelming majority of the men and women of the Department of Defense serve this country with honor and integrity,” Austin said in a statement.

However, he also added that it is only a few members of the institution who have violated these regulations. “They respect the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Austin said. “We believe only a very few violate this oath by participating in extremist activities.”

The authorities have not revealed what kind of activities the defense personnel were involved in, but they have clarified that ‘domestic terrorism’ and supporting overthrow of the ruling government are examples of prohibited activities for US military personnel.

Authorities will also begin educating and training service members on what constitutes prohibited extremist activity, as well as what actions are not permitted for service members. “That includes, very specifically, social media guidelines, what is permissible and what is not, with respect to extremist prohibited activities,” Kirby said.

Remarkably, the recommendations and guidelines this time do not name any specific extremist groups.

Effort to tackle extremism

The Pentagon is putting forward a clearer, sharper definition of extremist behavior in an ongoing effort to combat extremism within military ranks, updating older guidance that was deemed too vague on what was and was not allowed.

The new guidance doesn’t prohibit membership in an extremist organization, but officials said it makes it very difficult to participate.

The guidance does not prohibit specific extremist groups or organizations.

“We were very conscious of not focusing on any particular ideology or any political organization, but focusing exclusively on actions,” said one official.

One official noted that the rise of domestic violent extremism across the country may be a warning sign of a potential rise within the Defense Department in the coming years.

For the first time, the new directive also covers social media.

“It basically clarifies that service members are responsible for the contents that they publish on all personal and public internet domains, including social media sites, blogs, and websites,” said one official.

Now, liking or sharing a post that promotes extremist activity could be prohibited.

“Liking something with the intent to promote or endorse would be in violation of the policy,” said one official. “There has to be a knowing element to it, so there has to be an amplification of the message.”

The military won’t actively screen service members’ social media accounts, but if there is an investigation into an extremist incident, social media posts may become part of that investigation, the officials said.

More than 650 people have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, including dozens of veterans and about a half dozen active duty service members. Among them — an Army reservist who wore a Hitler mustache to his job at a Navy base.

Some of the rioters facing the most serious charges, including members of far-right extremist groups, have military backgrounds. In several of the prosecution cases already, the Justice Department has cited a rioter’s military service as a factor weighing in favor of a jail sentence or house arrest.

Prosecutors have repeatedly maintained that veterans’ service, while commendable, made their actions on Jan. 6 more egregious.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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