Welcome to 2025 and almost 2026, folks!
For the last several years, the U.S. Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has had a “non-exhaustive list of symbols whose display, presentation, creation, or depiction would constitute a potential hate incident: a noose, a swastika, supremacist symbols, Confederate symbols or flags, and anti-Semitic symbols. The display of these types of symbols constitutes a potential hate incident because hate based groups have co-opted or adopted them as symbols of supremacy, racial or religious intolerance, or other bias.”
But, under ICE Barbie’s ‘made for bad TV’ leadership, the policy has changed. “The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika — an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S. troops who died fighting in World War II — as a hate symbol.
The swastika will now be classified as “potentially divisive” under the Coast Guard’s new guidelines. The policy, set to take effect Dec. 15. The new policy also downgrades the classification of nooses and the Confederate flag, though display of the latter remains banned, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
The new policy says commanders are now instructed to consult legal counsel before determining whether a symbol violates policy and “adversely affects” morale, unit cohesion or mission readiness. It also introduces a formal 45-day deadline for reporting such incidents, a change critics say could discourage complaints—particularly for service members deployed at sea for extended periods.
A Coast Guard official who had seen the new wording called the policy changes chilling.
“We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal.