Swastikas, nooses and Confederate flags designated Coast Guard ‘hate symbols’ after uproar
Facing backlash over recent policy wording, the Coast Guard moved Thursday to make one thing clear: "hate symbols" such as swastikas and nooses remain forbidden in the service.The Coast Guard...
By Fox News · Fox News
Facing backlash over recent policy wording, the Coast Guard moved Thursday to make one thing clear: "hate symbols" such as swastikas and nooses remain forbidden in the service. The Coast Guard announced a new order aimed at combating "misinformation" late Thursday, after the service previously issued guidance earlier in November to no longer refer to displays of swastikas and nooses as a "hate incident." "Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited," the Coast Guard said in its latest policy. "These symbols and flags include, but are not limited to, the following: a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups as representations of supremacy, racial or religious intolerance, anti-semitism, or any other improper bias." 'OPTICAL ILLUSION' SWASTIKA FLAGS DISTRIBUTED TO MULTIPLE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES PROMPT INVESTIGATION: SOURCES "This is not an updated policy but a new policy to combat any misinformation and double down that the U.S. Coast Guard forbids these symbols," the Coast Guard also said in a news release late Thursday. The change came after the Coast Guard faced scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups for a new policy it rolled out earlier in November. While the service previously identified displays of swastikas, nooses, Confederate flags and other supremacist or antisemitic symbols as a "potential hate incident," the guidance issued earlier in November labeled them as "potentially divisive symbols and flags." The change was first reported by The Washington Post. Following media reports about the change, Coast Guard claimed earlier Thursday that it remained committed to barring the symbols from the service and penalizing those who display them. Additionally, it said that it still considered the symbols "extremist imagery." "The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false," Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandan…