The FBI and Ohio authorities are investigating a member of the Ohio National Guard who had been deployed to Washington, D.C.
”A member of the Ohio national guard was removed from the mission in Washington, D.C., after the FBI uncovered information that this guardsman expressed white supremacist ideology on the internet prior to this assignment,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in a news briefing Friday.
Ohio and other states had sent guard members to Washington, D.C. at the request of the Secretary of Defense, DeWine said.
The guardsman has been suspended. “This is an investigation being done, not by authorities in Ohio, but by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said the governor.
“While I fully support everyone’s right to free speech, guardsmen and women are sworn to protect all of us, regardless of race, ethnic background or religion," said Governor DeWine. "Our Ohio National Guard members are in a position of trust and authority during times of crisis, and anyone who displays a malice toward specific groups of Americans has no place in the Ohio National Guard.”
The governor says due process must take place, but he says it is likely the guardsmen will be permanently removed from the Ohio National Guard after the FBI investigation is complete.