Tropical Storm Florence is currently making its way across the Carolinas, causing catastrophic flooding, knocking out power and causing at least six confirmed deaths as of this writing.
In the middle of this, a member of the Coast Guard appeared to flash a “white power” hand gesture while his captain was being interviewed on MSNBC.
The unidentified man has since been removed from duty and an investigation is being launched, according to NBC.
The potential incident happened while Captain John Reed, who’s overseeing the Florence response in Charleston, South Carolina, was interviewed on Live with Ali Velshi. As Reed was explaining how they were using new tactics to respond to the storm, a man in a red shirt was seen in the background, making what looked like an “OK” symbol with his fingers.
Well, that was about as subtle as a train wreck, on a boat.
— Michael Ⓜ️ (@michaelschweitz) September 14, 2018
It could have been unintentional, or — eagle-eyed viewers claimed on social media — it could have been him adopting a favorite tactic among white supremacists, who use the symbol to denote “white power” — an attempt to “trigger” liberals by bragging about the uprise of white nationalism in America. Those who believe the man was doing the latter called on the man to be fired. The matter is now under investigation.
“We’re not going to let one person detract from the good work the Coast Guard is doing in the region,” said Coast Guard Lt. J.B. Zorn told NBC. “Whatever that symbol means, it doesn’t reflect the Coast Guard and our core values. It won’t be tolerated.”
The man’s possible signaling comes two weeks after Republican operative Zina Bash was caught making what appeared to be the same gesture while sitting behind Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.
(Via NBC)