#swastika

#swastika

The U.S. Coast Guard has released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just hours after it was publicly revealed that it made plans to describe them as "potentially divisive" - a term that prompted outcry from lawmakers and advocates. "Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited," the latest Coast Guard policy, released late Thursday, declared before adding that this category included "a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups."

Earlier this year, a social media account started documenting the mysterious and alarming appearance of spray-painted swastikas around downtown Ventura. But the account was not run by a good Samaritan trying to draw attention to a hate crime, authorities later determined. It was instead the handiwork of a convicted rapist who was committing the vandalism himself, then posting photos online in an effort to sow fear, according to the Ventura Police Department and the county district attorney's office.