The Orlando nightclub shooting, which killed 49 people, qualifies as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Following catastrophic events like this one, there’s often a race to see which prominent figure can make the worst comments. Donald Trump threw himself across the finish line first with self-congratulatory tweets about how “radical Islamic terrorism” was to blame. As time wore on, Trump was joined by others — John McCain, Pat Robinson, and Howard Stern — all vying for the most insensitive statement of all. Those were only words, however, and a few Marines may have topped all with a social media post that (allegedly) threatened action.
This story hails from the Marine Corps Times, which screencapped a Facebook photo that threatens to attack gay bars with rifles. The post, which you can see in full below, shows a West Coast Marine proudly brandishing a weapon with a “coming to a gay bar near you!” caption. The closed Camp MENdelton Resale group (which boasts 25,000 members) quickly intercepted and removed the post. They banned the offending member — who reportedly also left a “too soon?” comment — from the forum for publishing hate speech.
Well, a social media ousting wasn’t the only consequence. The I Marine Expeditionary Force (based in California) confirmed that two active-duty Marines are in hot water. An investigation into the post is ongoing, and First Lt. Thomas Gray told the Marine Corps Times that he couldn’t discuss the case, but “the command is taking this incident seriously.” Here’s the full photo in question, which is both frightening and incredibly dumb.
(Via Marine Corps Times)