Coast Guard Commandant Demands Immediate Departure for Anyone Promoting Hate After Swastika Found at Cape May Training Center

The U.S. Coast Guard has demanded immediate departure from its ranks for anyone promoting hate after a hand-drawn swastika was discovered at its training center in Cape May, New Jersey.

A Coast Guard instructor first spotted the symbol Thursday evening on a men’s room wall, two individuals confirmed. The discovery prompted an internal investigation by the service.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday promptly traveled from Washington to Cape May and addressed approximately 900 recruits and staff members at the training center. In his statement, Lunday declared: “Anyone who adheres to or advances hate or extremist ideology — get out. Leave. You don’t belong in the United States Coast Guard and we reject you.”

The Coast Guard emphasized that it has always condemned and punished displays of hate symbols or imagery associated with intimidation, hatred, or oppression. Such conduct is incompatible with its core values.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated on social media that the Coast Guard had removed outdated policy language regarding hate symbols from official records to prevent misrepresentation by external entities.

The Coast Guard previously implemented a November policy describing hate symbols as “potentially divisive,” allowing commanders to take steps to remove them from public view without applying to private spaces such as family housing. The Department of Homeland Security has maintained there was never a formal downgrade in policy language.