Coast Guard Says Swastikas and Nooses Banned After Listing Them as ‘Potentially Divisive’

The Coast Guard on Nov. 20 made clear that swastikas and nooses are banned within the agency, after earlier publishing a document that said it was up to leaders to decide whether to remove them.

“Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited. 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,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting Coast Guard commandant, said in a memorandum on Nov. 20.

The Coast Guard previously said, in a policy first rolled out in 2019, that displaying swastikas and nooses was a potential hate incident and that there was no benefit from displaying the divisive symbols.

In a Nov. 13 update, the Coast Guard said that nooses and swastikas were “potentially divisive symbols.” That document noted that Confederate flags remained banned but that the removal of potentially divisive symbols was subject to the discretion of commanders, commanding officers, officers-in-charge, and supervisors.

Media outlets on Thursday found the document and reported that the Coast Guard was no longer banning the display of swastikas and nooses, prompting Lunday to issue the updated policy.

“The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses, or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy. Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” Lunday said in a statement.

“The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, of which the Coast Guard is part, also said on social media that the reports were false.

The Coast Guard and the department did not respond to requests for more information.

In a press release, the Coast Guard said that its latest policy doubled down on the prohibition of hate symbols and said, “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.”

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) said on X that she met with Lunday about the Nov. 13 update and that he had committed to publishing a new version of the policy.

“Displays of hate have no place in our armed services,” she said.

“Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate,” Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House of Representatives committee that oversees the Coast Guard, said in a statement.

“Coast Guard: be better.”

The earlier update also stated that situations that would have been handled as potential hate incidents would now be processed as harassment reports, and that the term ‘hate incident’ was no longer used.

The Nov. 20 update did not mention any potential hate incidents.