Marine Corps officials are investigating whether a recruiter made an insulting social media post about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed on Wednesday while giving a speech in Utah.
An image posted on the unofficial Marine subreddit page appears to show the recruiter sharing a meme on Instagram that includes a picture of Kirk with the caption, “Another racist man popped.”
Marine Corps officials said Thursday they were aware of “a social media post last night that does not align with our core values,” said Capt. Austin Gallegos, a spokesman for the Corps’ Western Recruiting Region.
“The Marine Corps takes this type of allegation seriously,” Gallegos told Task & Purpose. “The Marine in question has been relieved of his recruiting duties, and the matter is currently under investigation.”
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As of Thursday afternoon, the recruiter’s Instagram page was no longer available. Earlier in the day, Task & Purpose took a screenshot of the Instagram profile for the recruiter, who is a captain based in Chicago.
It was not immediately clear whether the Marine or someone who had access to his Instagram account may have shared the meme.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative activist group Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
The FBI has released pictures of a “person of interest” in connection with the shooting.
