The military is investigating after photos and videos of two U.S. Marines who appeared to be wearing blackface went viral.
The two Marines, who are assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Wing in San Diego, Calif., are shown in photos and Snapchat videos wearing charcoal masks, with one of the Marines yelling out, “Hello, monkey.” Both the Marines in the recording were in uniform.
This is Zach Highfield, he’s a Marine who is proudly displaying his bigotry by wearing blackface in his military gear. The man behind him who says “hello monkey” hasn’t been identified yet. Care to comment on this racist behavior @USMC? pic.twitter.com/mKPLetFrYs
— Simar (@sahluwal) February 23, 2019
Zach Highfield, who owns the Snapchat account where the posts appeared, was identified as one of the Marines. He told KPBS-TV that the posts were an error.
“It was a bad mistake,” he said. “We had no intention to offend.”
Stars and Stripes reported that the 3rd Marine Airlift Wing, where the two men are stationed, is investigating the incident. Officials did not identify the second service member who appears in the video.
“This is totally unacceptable and offensive,” said Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’m pleased to see that the Marine Corps has opened an investigation.”
