34 West Virginia cadets who gave Nazi salutes in a “disgraceful” class photo were suspended without pay and three were fired a day after the photo went viral, sparking outrage around the world.
The cadets who participated in a basic training class at the West Virginia Division of Corrections are seen raising the Nazi salute in the photo. The basic training class was held from Oct. 21 to Nov. 27.
Their faces are obscured to protect their identities during the “ongoing investigation”, according to the NY Post via the NY Daily News.
Gov. Jim Justice told the Post that he wanted everyone in the photo fired. He said he “ordered the termination of all those that are found to be involved” in the photo – including the photographers.
The photo is captured “HAIL BYRD!”, which the Post claims is in reference to a class instructor – not the late Senator Robert Byrd, a known racist and KKK Grand Wizard who admitted creating a Ku Klux Klan chapter before he entered politics. Byrd died in 2010 at age 92.
Byrd was close friends with Hillary Clinton, who said she looked up to him for advice during her terms in the Senate and as U.S. secretary of state.
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the photograph(s) used in this post. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” of photographs for purposes such as parody, criticism, commentary, news reporting, education, and research.
