Camilla Jessen
Coast Guard sparks fury by reclassifying swastika.
A shift inside the U.S. Coast Guard has ignited backlash, with critics accusing the Trump administration of enabling extremism.
The agency is preparing to implement a new policy that removes the swastika from its list of designated hate symbols
As reported by The Washington Post, this decision has stunned Jewish groups, lawmakers and civil-rights advocates.
Policy overhaul
According to The Washington Post, the Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as hate speech when its revised internal guidelines take effect on December 15.
Instead, the Nazi emblem will be listed as “potentially controversial,” a category that also applies to the noose and Confederate flag.
Admiral Kevin Lunday, quoted by the newspaper, insisted that any display or promotion of such imagery will still be “rigorously investigated and severely punished.”
The agency declined to explain why the swastika was reclassified.
A spokesperson, Jennifer Plozai, told the Post the Coast Guard disagrees with aspects of the report but will nonetheless review its policy changes.
The service operates under the Department of Homeland Security, currently led by Kristi Noem.
A symbol with global weight
The swastika — an ancient symbol in parts of Asia — was adopted by Nazi Germany in 1935 and remains banned in modern-day Germany.
In the United States, it is protected under free speech laws but widely recognized as a marker of antisemitic hatred and violent extremism.
The Coast Guard’s decision to soften its internal designation has triggered immediate condemnation from Jewish leaders and public officials who argue the move sends a dangerous signal.
Condemnation across the aisle
Doug Emhoff, who made combating antisemitism a central focus during his wife Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential tenure, said leaders “cannot remain silent on this issue if they truly want to combat anti-Semitism and hatred.”
The Jewish Democratic Council of America reacted sharply: “Welcome to Donald Trump’s America, where swastikas are no longer considered symbols of hate.”
Haaretz wrote that the change “normalizes violent extremism.”
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, warned that downgrading the classification amounts to “normalizing violent extremism,” referencing her organization’s work holding white supremacists accountable after the 2017 Charlottesville rally.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey called the reported shift “disgusting,” arguing that “swastikas, nooses, Confederate flags are symbols of hate” and must remain classified as such.
“We cannot allow the Trump administration to normalize hate,” he said.
Sources: The Washington Post, Haaretz, Digi24
