Coast Guard reclassifies swastikas and nooses as hate symbols after backlash

By Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — The US Coast Guard on Thursday issued a memo that reclassifies swastikas and nooses as “hate symbols,” in a rapid about-face after facing intense scrutiny for a previous policy change which downplayed their display as merely “potentially divisive.”

The newest memo expressly prohibits the display of nooses, swastikas or “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.”

It was released hours after The Washington Post reported that the Coast Guard had approved a policy that downgraded the way the symbols, which are some of the most recognizable emblems of racism and antisemitism, had previously been classified.

Since 2023, Coast Guard policy had said displaying the symbols “constitutes a potential hate incident.” In the updated policy first reported by The Post on Thursday, and issued by the Coast Guard last week, that language had been changed to referring to those symbols simply as “potentially divisive.” That policy had been set to take effect in December.

The newest policy, released yesterday, says: “Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited.” It lists swastikas, nooses and other emblems that have been adopted or co-opted by hate groups.

The reversal came amid heavy criticism that the Coast Guard, a military branch which falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, was downplaying the display of insignia which imply support for some of the darkest moments in human history.

DHS denied it had changed its policy before the Coast Guard issued the apparent reversal. An agency spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, also denied in a post to social media on Friday that the Coast Guard was “backtracking” by issuing the latest memo.

“The 2025 policy is not changing—USCG issued a lawful order that doubles down on our *current* policies prohibiting the display, distribution or use of hate symbols by Coast Guard personnel,” she said.

Nooses symbolize the legacy of racial hatred and terror in the United States that saw thousands of Black people lynched between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Swastikas epitomize Adolf Hitler’s murderous regime in Nazi Germany, which killed millions of people during the Holocaust and sparked a war in which more than 400,000 American service members — including about 1,900 who served in the Coast Guard — also died.

Rep. Lauren Underwood, an Illinois Democrat, said she met with the Coast Guard’s acting commandant, Admiral Kevin Lunday, to express concerns about the update to the policy. She said she received a commitment from him that the policy would change and become more restrictive.

“He came by the office and assured us that there is an across-the-board prohibition on hate symbols, including swastikas and nooses,” Underwood said in a video statement.

Lunday also insisted in a statement Thursday that swastikas and other “extremist imagery” remain prohibited in the Coast Guard.

“Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” he said. “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.”

The military at times has struggled with combatting extremism among their service members. A 2020 Pentagon report found that extremist views were not widespread in the military, but said the issue was still urgent due to the ability of people with military experience to carry out “high-impact events.”

During President Joe Biden’s term, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2021 ordered a staggered pause in operations across the military so commanders could have discussions with their service members about the issue of extremism.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed the idea of there being an issue with extremism in the military. During his confirmation hearing in January, Hegseth said a focus on extremism has “created a climate inside our ranks that feel political when it hasn’t ever been political.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.

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