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Facing backlash over recent policy wording, the Coast Guard moved Thursday to make one thing clear: “hate symbols” such as swastikas and nooses remain forbidden in the service.
The Coast Guard announced a new order aimed at combating “misinformation” late Thursday, after the service previously issued guidance earlier in November to no longer refer to displays of swastikas and nooses as a “hate incident.”
“Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,” the Coast Guard said in its latest policy. “These symbols and flags include, but are not limited to, the following: a noose, a swastika, and 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.”
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“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,” the Coast Guard also said in a news release late Thursday.
The change came after the Coast Guard faced scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups for a new policy it rolled out earlier in November.
While the service previously identified displays of swastikas, nooses, Confederate flags and other supremacist or antisemitic symbols as a “potential hate incident,” the guidance issued earlier in November labeled them as “potentially divisive symbols and flags.” The change was first reported by The Washington Post.
Following media reports about the change, Coast Guard claimed earlier Thursday that it remained committed to barring the symbols from the service and penalizing those who display them. Additionally, it said that it still considered the symbols “extremist imagery.”
“The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy.”
“Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” Lunday 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.”
Under the guidance released earlier in November, commanding officers and other leaders were instructed to inquire about public displays of other symbols identified as “potentially divisive,” and are granted the authority to direct or order the removal of those that negatively impact moral and mission readiness.
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The initial policy change also said it would completely eradicating the term “hate incident” and that incidents that were previously handled as a “potential hate incident” would not be processed as a harassment report.
“Conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual…The terminology ‘hate incident’ is no longer present in policy,” the initial guidance said.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on why it removed the term “hate incident” in the policy change.
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After the Post’s initial report on the update, the top Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, said there is no room for debate over whether nooses or swastikas are hate symbols.
“Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate,” Larsen, whose committee has oversight authority over the Coast Guard, said in a statement Thursday. “Coast Guard: be better.”
The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military to fall under the Department of Homeland Security, but has launched initiatives including Force Design 2028 to revamp its organizational structure, acquisitions, contracting and technology, among other changes, to align more closely with other services that fall under the purview of the Department of War.
The Coast Guard initially said that it updated its harassment policy in alignment with orders from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon.
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The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on the matter. However, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth instructed the Pentagon to conduct a review of its hazing and harassment policies in September.
The Pentagon also has its own set of extremism guidelines, which effectively bans displaying Confederate flags or those with a swastika on them. Only preapproved flags, including state flags or military service flags, are permitted.
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