US Coast Guard denies claim it will stop classifying swastikas as hate symbols: ‘Categorically false’
The US Coast Guard denied claims that it would stop classifying swastikas, nooses, and co-opted flags as hate symbols. AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. Coast Guard has rejected claims that it is revising its policies to reclassify hate symbols, including swastikas and nooses, as “potentially divisive” rather than prohibited, calling the reports “categorically false.”
The claim, first reported Thursday by the Washington Post, focused on the Coast Guard’s recently approved “Harassing Behavior Prevention, Response, and Accountability” manual. Critics suggested the new guidance effectively removed swastikas, nooses, and other extremist imagery from the list of prohibited symbols.
Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, released a statement on X emphasizing that these symbols remain strictly prohibited. “Any display, use, or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” he said. “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.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, also criticized the reporting on X, accusing the Washington Post of “making things up.”
The Coast Guard manual outlines six major policy updates, with the Washington Post report centering on the fourth change, which removes the term “hate incident” and the label “hate symbol” from the text. The document now categorizes such imagery under “potentially divisive symbols and flags,” but Lunday’s memorandum clarifies that this includes swastikas, nooses, and “any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups as representations of supremacy, racial or religious intolerance, antisemitism, or any other improper bias.” The memorandum also confirmed that the Confederate flag remains prohibited.
Although the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of War, it has been adjusting its policies in alignment with broader military reform initiatives. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in a late September meeting with the nation’s top military leaders, pledged a “sweeping overhaul of the military’s policies that were creating division.”
Despite official clarifications, some critics remain unconvinced. The Jewish Democratic Council of America warned that normalizing antisemitic imagery could put Jewish Americans at greater risk. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey called the policy changes “disgusting” and a clear attempt to normalize hate.
The Coast Guard’s new policies are set to take effect on December 15.
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