A Hawaii-based U.S. Marine from Alabama has been dismissed over a series of racist and pro-Nazi tweets.
Lance Cpl. Mason Mead, 20, of Vestavia Hills, will be discharged under other-than-honorable conditions following an investigation into his tweets, Stars and Stripes reported. Mead was an infantry assaultman with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines.
Mead’s ouster follows an investigation into social media messages that included praise for Nazi actions during World War II, images showing explosives in the shape of a swastika and others of him in blackface with the caption “hello, fellow black men.”
Mead also shared quotes from Leon Degrelle, a Belgian politician and Nazi collaborator, and added the caption “I look at this image before sleep and smile” below a photo of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and a Catholic official giving the Nazi salute.
Another photo showed Mount Fuji above the caption “ching chong,” with emojis including a Japanese flag, a dog and a knife and fork. A comment under the tweet said “excited to try Japanese teriyaki doberman!”
Mead later admitted to an Article 92 charge, or failure to obey and order or regulation, specifically the Marine Corps Prohibited Activities and Conduct Prevention and Response Policy. Mead’s discharge will be complete once administrative and medical processing is complete, Marine Corps officials said.
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