The US Coast Guard is forcefully denying a recent report which alleged the military branch intends to stop characterising swastikas as hate symbols. This follows a Washington Post investigation that claimed the Nazi insignia would be reclassified under new guidelines.
Controversial Policy Changes Alleged
According to The Washington Post's Thursday report, the new guidance would label swastikas as merely 'potentially divisive' rather than explicitly hateful. The report indicated that nooses and the Confederate flag would similarly be downgraded, though displaying the Confederate flag would remain banned.
More concerning for service members, the new policy would apparently limit the time to report displays of nooses or swastikas to just 45 days. This represents a significant reduction from the previous policy which had no time restrictions. Critics argue this could have a chilling effect, particularly given that Coast Guard members are frequently deployed for months at sea.
"If you are at sea, and your shipmate has a swastika in their rack, and you are a black person or Jew, and you are going to be stuck at sea with them for the next 60 days, are you going to feel safe reporting that up your chain of command?" a Coast Guard official told the Post.
Official Pushback and Policy Comparison
The newspaper provided direct comparisons between the 2023 policy and the new guidelines scheduled for implementation on December 15. The 2023 policy explicitly stated that displaying symbols like nooses, swastikas, and Confederate flags "would constitute a potential hate incident" because "hate-based groups have co-opted or adopted them as symbols of supremacy."
The November 2025 policy draft, however, uses different language, referring to "potentially divisive symbols and flags" including "a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups."
On Thursday, Acting Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Kevin Lunday, strongly contested these characterisations. "The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false," Lunday stated in a post on X. "These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy."
Lunday emphasised that any display of these symbols would be investigated and violators punished, adding that "The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace."
Broader Political Context
The controversy emerges during a period of heightened political tension surrounding antisemitism. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, avoided questions about the Coast Guard story during her Thursday briefing.
This incident coincides with President Donald Trump's recent moves to restore Confederate imagery, including the reinstatement of a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike in Washington, D.C. last month. The President has also made positive comments about Confederate general Robert E. Lee, suggesting he would have been acceptable with a statue planned for the general in the early 1900s.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard during peacetime, has not issued additional comments on the matter.
