The new policy also prevents Coast Guard officers from immediately removing white supremacist symbols upon discovery.

Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said.

The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika — an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S.

The Coast Guard is pushing back on reports that it will no longer classify swastikas and nooses as hate symbols -- with a ...

U.S. Army Specialist Christopher Riveria displays a tattoo on his shoulder as he passes the time, waiting to leave Kuwait and head home after exiting from Iraq on December 9, 2011. (Joe Raedle/Getty ...

The Armed Forces branch said it will review an upcoming policy change on swastikas and nooses after a Washington Post exposé that the Department of Homeland Security called “fake crap.” ...

Admiral Kevin Lunday denied recent claims by The Washington Post that the service was removing the 'hateful' designation from symbols such as the swastika and the Confederate battle flag.

The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.” ...