WASHINGTON (AP) — TheU.S. Coast Guardhas released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just hours after it was publicly revealed that it made plans to describe them as "potentially divisive" — a term that prompted outcry from lawmakers and advocates.
"Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,"the latest Coast Guard policy,released late Thursday, declared before adding that this category included "a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups."
"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," an accompanying Coast Guard press release said.
The late-night change came on the same day that media outlets, led by The Washington Post, discovered that the Coast Guard had written a policy earlier this month that called those same symbols "potentially divisive." The term was a shift from a years-long policy,first rolled out in 2019, that said symbols like swastikas and nooses were "widely identified with oppression or hatred" and called their display "a potential hate incident."
The latest policy that was rolled out Thursday night also unequivocally banned the display of any divisive or hate symbols from all Coast Guard locations. The earlier version stopped short of banning the symbols, instead saying that commanders could take steps to remove them from public view and that the rule did not apply to private spaces outside of public view, such as family housing.
Both policies maintained a long-standing prohibition on publicly displaying the Confederate flag outside of a handful of situations, such as educational or historical settings.
The latest Coast Guard policy appears to take effect immediately.
After the initial policy change became public, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada said the change "rolls back important protections against bigotry and could allow for horrifically hateful symbols like swastikas and nooses to be inexplicably permitted to be displayed."
"At a time when antisemitism is rising in the United States and around the world, relaxing policies aimed at fighting hate crimes not only sends the wrong message to the men and women of our Coast Guard, but it puts their safety at risk," she added.
Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said the policy did not roll back any prohibitions, calling it "categorically false" to claim otherwise in a statement released earlier Thursday.
"These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy," Lunday said in a statement, adding that "any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished."
Lunday's predecessor, Admiral Linda Fagan, wasfired on President Donald Trump's first day in office. Trump officials later said she fired in part for putting an "excessive focus" on diversity and inclusion efforts that diverted "resources and attention from operational imperatives."
The older policy that was rolled out earlier in November also explicitly said that "the terminology 'hate incident' is no longer present in policy" and conduct that would have previously been handled as a potential hate incident will now be treated as "a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual."
Commanders, in consultation with lawyers, may order or direct the removal of "potentially divisive" symbols or flags if they are found to be affecting the unit's morale or discipline, according to the policy.
The newest policy is silent on whether Coast Guard personnel will be able to claim they were victims of hate incidents.
The Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security, but it is still considered a part of America's armed forces and the new policy was updated in part to be consistent with similar Pentagon directives, according to a Coast Guard message announcing the changes.
It also has historically modeled many of its human resources policies on other military services.
The policy change comes less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethordered a reviewof all the hazing, bullying and harassment definitions across the military, arguing thatthe policies were "overly broad"and they were "jeopardizing combat readiness, mission accomplishment, and trust in the organization."
The Pentagon could not offer any details about what the review was specifically looking at, if it could lead to similar changes as seen in the Coast Guard policy or when the review would be complete.
Menachem Rosensaft, a law professor at Cornell University and a Jewish community leader, said in a statement that "the swastika is the ultimate symbol of virulent hate and bigotry, and even a consideration by the Coast Guard to no longer classify it as such would be equivalent to dismissing the Ku Klux Klan's burning crosses and hoods as merely 'potentially divisive.'"
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the move "disgusting, and it's more encouragement from the Republicans of extremism."
Haigh reported from Norwich, Connecticut.
