---
title: "Coast Guard Officer Punished For Flashing White Supremacist Symbol On National TV"
description: "The U.S. Coast Guard officer who \"intentionally\" flashed a white supremacist hand gesture in the background of a live TV interview in September was officially censured by the branch shortly after the incident, the Post and Courier reported on Thursday"
date: "2019-01-11"
modified: "2019-01-11"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/coast-guard-white-supremacist-symbol/"
categories:
  - "Around the World"
  - "Coast Guard"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "United States"
tags:
  - "Black Community"
  - "justice"
  - "Northern Command"
---

# Coast Guard Officer Punished For Flashing White Supremacist Symbol On National TV

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/19081781-1.jpg>)

The U.S. Coast Guard officer who "intentionally" flashed a white supremacist hand gesture in the background of a live TV interview in September was officially censured by the branch shortly after the incident, the Post and Courier [reported](<https://www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-coast-guard-officer-censured-for-flashing-white-supremacy-sign/article_9627b1f0-fe25-11e8-b2c7-57224f1a273e.html>) on Thursday.

- The Coast Guard issued a letter of censure to the unidentified officer on Oct. 5, less than a month after the officer [appeared in the background ](<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=.df360d02a210>)of an MSNBC interview on Hurricane Florence response efforts.
- "While your actions may have seemed funny or playful to you, they clearly showed lack of maturityu and an inability to understand the gravity of the situation," the letter, [obtained](<https://www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-coast-guard-officer-censured-for-flashing-white-supremacy-sign/article_9627b1f0-fe25-11e8-b2c7-57224f1a273e.html>) by the Post and Courier through a Freedom Of Information Act request, says.
- Shortly after the incident occurred, the Coast Guard stated that the branch "had identified the member and removed him from the response," [adding](<https://twitter.com/USCG/status/1040764976527560704?ref_src=twsrc%255Etfw%257Ctwcamp%255Etweetembed%257Ctwterm%255E1040764976527560704&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.washingtonpost.com%252Fnation%252F2018%252F09%252F15%252Fcoast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv%252F>) that "his actions do not reflect those of the United States Coast Guard."
- The letter also notes that Coast Guard personnel were "directly cautioned by a Public Affairs Specialist about the controversy surrounding that symbol just prior to the live interview being conducted," a statement that suggests defense officials are wising up to the use of white supremacist imagery among U.S. service members.
- While the letter of censure won't see the light of day if the officer comes up for a promotion, an explanatory document will follow him around for the rest of his career, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Kelley [told](<https://www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-coast-guard-officer-censured-for-flashing-white-supremacy-sign/article_9627b1f0-fe25-11e8-b2c7-57224f1a273e.html>) the Post and Courier.
- More than 30% of service members see white nationalism as a significant threat to national security, [according](<https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2017/10/23/military-times-poll-one-in-four-troops-sees-white-nationalism-in-the-ranks/>) to an October 2017 Military Times poll. Only 27% said the same about Syria, 22% for Afghanistan, and 17% for Iraq.

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

### WATCH NEXT: The Recruitment Of Veterans By White Supremacists Is On The Rise

## 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  
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