---
title: "Coast Guard Member Removed After Allegedly Flashing White Power Gesture On National TV"
date: "2018-09-15"
modified: "2018-09-15"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller.md"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/coast-guard-white-power-gesture/"
categories:
  - "News"
---

# Coast Guard Member Removed After Allegedly Flashing White Power Gesture On National TV

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18990326-1.jpg>)

The U.S. Coast Guard removed a service member from its Hurrican Florence emergency response force after a Coastie was spotted allegedly flashing a white supremacist hand gesture on national television.

- In a Friday segment from MSNBC, a service member sitting in the background of an interview with a Coast Guard official was [spotted](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/09/15/coast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv/?utm_term=.00f9a0ac5356>) conspicuously flashing an "OK" symbol with his fingers, a hand gesture that has [reportedly](<https://theoutline.com/post/1428/the-ok-sign-is-becoming-an-alt-right-symbol?zd=1&zi=clvy3xkd>) become a favorite among members of the so-called "alt-right" movement.

https://twitter.com/jgobble/status/1040719621450416128

&ref;\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2018%2F09%2F15%2Fcoast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv%2F

- After the clip began to circulate on Twitter, the Coast Guard stated that it was "aware of the offensive video" and that the service had "identified the member and removed him from the response."

https://twitter.com/USCG/status/1040764976527560704

&ref;\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2018%2F09%2F15%2Fcoast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv%2F

- For some context: the incident came just over a week after some home viewers watching the televised confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court [claimed](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/09/04/that-was-no-white-power-hand-signal-at-the-kavanaugh-hearing-zina-bashs-husband-says/?utm_term=.ddb066291ecb&tid=a_inl_manual>) they saw Republican operative Zina Bash flashing the same white power gesture.

https://twitter.com/paleofuture/status/1038024146867777537

&ref;\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-intersect%2Fwp%2F2018%2F09%2F04%2Fthat-was-no-white-power-hand-signal-at-the-kavanaugh-hearing-zina-bashs-husband-says%2F

- However, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary spokesman Taylor Foy offered up "another, innocuous explanation" for the hand gesture, the Washington Post [reports](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/09/15/coast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv/?utm_term=.00f9a0ac5356>): "The signal was aimed at a judiciary staffer who fulfilled a request for the judge."

**WATCH NEXT:**

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/image-placeholder-title-1512.png>)

## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbkeller/>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jaredbkelller/>)

## More

- [Mattis Kicked Off His Memorial Day Weekend By Keeping It Humble At The White House Mess](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/mattis-serves-breakfast-white-house.md>)
- [Coast Guard Officer Punished For Flashing White Supremacist Symbol On National TV](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/coast-guard-white-supremacist-symbol.md>)
- [A Member Of Blink-182 Claims He Advised The Navy On How To Find Saddam Hussein](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/blink-182-mark-hoppus-saddam-hussein.md>)
- [Virginia Candidate: My Alleged Love Of ‘Bigfoot Erotica’ Is Just A Dumb Military Joke](<https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/bigfoot-erotica-denve-riggleman-virginia.md>)
- [Trump Decided To Invite Putin To The White House And Apparently Didn’t Tell His Spy Chief](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/trump-decided-to-invite-putin-to-the-white-house-and-apparently-didnt-tell-his-spy-chief.md>)
- [Iraq War Combat Vet’s Wife Rips Into Trump As She’s Deported After Begging Him For Help](<https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/iraq-war-combat-veteran-wife-deported.md>)
- [The National Guard is getting roasted which is more than we can say for the food soldiers are getting at the Capitol](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/national-guard-food-capitol.md>)
- [Why the US probably used a missile full of swords to take out Al Qaeda’s leader](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/hellfire-r9x-drone-strike-al-zawahiri.md>)