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Ritchie Torres introduces bill to codify Coast Guard’s anti-swastika policy

The move comes after the Coast Guard walked back a policy that loosened restrictions around displaying the symbol

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Representative Ritchie Torres, during an interview in New York, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Monday introduced legislation to codify a policy in the Coast Guard prohibiting displays of swastikas and other hate symbols, following backlash last week over a new Coast Guard policy that loosened the previous ban on such displays.

Amid bipartisan pressure from Congress and public outcry, the Coast Guard walked back the policy, which would have classified swastikas, nooses and other similar symbols as “potentially divisive” and would not have banned them outright.

Torres’ bill would prohibit the Coast Guard from issuing, without congressional approval, “any guidance that is less restrictive on prohibiting divisive or hate symbols and flags” than the updated policy issued following the public backlash, which partially, although not fully, reinstated the previous policy. The new policy states that “divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,” including swastikas.

The legislation does not specify how “less restrictive” would be defined or determined in practice.

The latest iteration of the Coast Guard’s policy keeps in place changes made to the investigative process for such incidents — previously, they would be subject to a full investigation, now they are subject to a potentially less stringent inquiry by the relevant commanding officer.

Torres’ bill is not likely to move forward in its current form given the unified GOP control of the government.

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