Two weeks ago, authorities arrested Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson, who allegedly had white supremacist connections, an arsenal of firearms, and a hit list of media personalities and liberal politicians. Now, the Marines are investigating a service member in their own ranks whose Twitter presence allegedly boasted racist, anti-Semitic ideology and posted Nazi propaganda, the Marine Corps Times reported on Tuesday.
The Twitter account, @Jacobite_Edward, was allegedly run by Lance Cpl. Mason Mead, a 20 year old infantry Marine stationed in Kaneohe Bay, HI, according to the publication. While the account has since been deactivated, screenshots show it posted Nazi propaganda, such as images of Nazi collaborators and men with their arms raised in a Nazi salute.
One photo from the account also showed a person arranging military explosives into the shape of a swastika. The poster captioned a photo of a Marine wearing dark camouflage face paint as, “Hello, fellow black men,” which the site Task & Purpose reported was a photo of Mead. Other posts reportedly referenced Mead’s unit, with some photos revealing part of his name taped to military gear.
1st Lt. David Mancilla, a Corps spokesman for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, told Task & Purpose the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the matter. NCIS told the Times it wouldn’t comment on ongoing investigations, and Mead did not return the Times’ request for comment.
“The Marine Corps is aware of the derogatory online comments attributed to a Marine with 1st Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division,” Mancilla said. “The Marine Corps takes every instance of misconduct seriously, whether on duty, off duty, or online. Any form of racism or discrimination undermines the core values of the Marine Corps and is not tolerated. NCIS is thoroughly investigating this situation and the command will address any misconduct at the appropriate judicial or administrative level.”
Hasson and Mead are just the latest troops whose racist behavior has been revealed. In August 2018, Lance Cpl. Vasillios Pistolis was kicked out after he was unmasked as a member of a neo-Nazi group who bragged about attacking a woman at the deadly Charlottesville white supremacist rally in 2017. The same year, two other Marines, Sgt. Michael Chesny and Staff Sgt. Joseph Manning, were arrested for flying a white supremacist banner at a Confederate Memorial Day rally in North Carolina.