Two active-duty Marines were arrested after trespassing at a pro-Confederate rally and unfurling a white nationalist banner in North Carolina.
Sgt. Michael Chesny, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, and Staff Sgt. Joseph Manning were arrested after climbing a building on May 20 to unfurl the banner, which had a quote from George Orwell’s 1984 written on it: “He who controls the past controls the future.” The banner also contained the letters “YWNRU,” a white nationalist slogan for “You Will Not Replace Us” associated with the group Evropa.
The two men allegedly hung the banner on a building on the main street where the “Confederate Memorial Day rally” was taking place.
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Mike Barton, a spokesman for Cherry Point, said that the matter is being investigated to see what kind of action should be taken.
“Once the investigation is complete, the commanding officer’s action can range from taking no action and letting the civilian authorities prosecute the case, to administrative actions such as formal admonishment, non-judicial punishment or administrative separation from the service,” Barton said. “The commanding officer may refer the case to a court martial if the investigation determines the misconduct was serious enough to warrant a prosecution of crimes not already handled through the Alamance County criminal court.”
“Of course we condemn this type of behavior,” Maj. Clark Carpenter said. “We condemn any type of behavior that is not congruent with our values or that is illegal.”
“This is two Marines that behaved inappropriately,” Carpenter adde. “That’s going to be investigated, and ultimately it’s an isolated incident.”
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