EXCLUSIVE: Marines discharge reservist identified as belonging to a notorious white nationalist hate group
Amid concerns about white nationalists enlisting in the U.S. military to gain combat training, the Marines have discharged a reservist who was identified as belonging to a notorious hate group, Yahoo News has learned. Meanwhile, the Army National Guard took a different approach in dealing with an enlisted man who held, but has renounced, similar extremist views.
The Minnesota National Guard came to a different decision in the case of another service member named in the same article. Pfc. Andrew Schmidt, 19, was recalled from basic training in April after the same HuffPost report identified him as having ties to Identity Evropa. Schmidt told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he was “embarrassed and ashamed” of his ties to the group and no longer shared its ideology, and added that “those groups are really manipulative. They target young men and make them feel like they’re part of something.
“Extremist organizations actively seek out active and veteran members of the military,” said James. “A lot of these groups really value the types of experience, tactical training, leadership ability that you get in the military, so often, now, these groups are actively encouraging people to go and join the military to get that experience and then bring those skills back to their extremist groups.
Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., who signed the February letter, added an amendment to the latest National Defense Authorization Act to attempt to address the issue. The amendment would ensure that surveys of Department of Defense employees would include questions of whether or not the respondents have experienced or witnessed supremacist activity, extremist activity and/or racism. The amendment awaits passage by the full House and Senate.
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