I'm Brian Lerer. This is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Monday, January 25th.

So one alarming detail about the siege on the U.S. Capitol this month is just how many of the rioters and insurrectionists

were current or former members of the armed forces. Maybe you've seen the footage from inside the

Senate chambers of a man wearing a military-style helmet and tactical vest. That man is an Air Force

veteran. The insurrectionist killed by police while crashing through a Capitol window was 35-year-old Ashley Babbitt,

who had not that long ago, had finished 14 years in the Air Force.

Others involved are still serving in some capacity.

An NPR analysis finds one in five people charged over their involvement in the attack,

have at least a record of military service.

So what has the Pentagon been doing to root out extremism and white nationalism in its ranks?

How widespread an ideology is it among Americans in uniform?

Are they being radicalized while there? And what happens next?

With me now is Leo Shane III, Deputy Editor and Capitol Hill Bureau Chief, for the

Military Times, which obviously covers the military. Leo, thanks for coming on with us. Welcome

back to WNYC. I appreciate the invite. So the findings from NPR are

concerning, to say the least, one in five people charged in relation to the siege on the Capitol

has a military history. That doesn't mean they're currently in the armed forces, but they were,

and only a small percentage of people ever serve anymore.

So how does your reporting in the military times either corroborate or complicate that analysis?

Yeah, it really was a great analysis by NPR and something, frankly, that the military and the veteran community has been worried about,

has been looking at as we saw

some of those reports. You mentioned a few of the veterans and guardsmen who were involved

...