The U.S. Military Academy condemned pro-communist photos posted by a graduate on social media this week and said the Army is investigating the infantry officer’s actions.
In a statement issued Tuesday, West Point said the actions by the graduate, 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, did not “reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army.”
“As figures of public trust, members of the military must exhibit exemplary conduct, and are prohibited from engaging in certain expressions of political speech in uniform,” the U.S. Military Academy said in its statement. “Second Lieutenant Rapone’s chain of command is aware of his actions and is looking into the matter.”
Rapone is now an infantry officer in the Army, according to his Medium account. He identifies himself as a “Commie/space cowboy” on his Twitter account.
The West Point graduate posted two photos on Twitter this week expressing pro-communist views. In one photo, tweeted Monday, Rapone opened the buttons of his uniform to show a Che Guevara T-shirt underneath.
“In case there was any lingering doubt, hasta la victoria siempre,” he tweeted.
In case there was any lingering doubt, hasta la victoria siempre pic.twitter.com/0XrW38wcCk
— ❄️Winter Soldier? (@punkproletarian) September 25, 2017
A second tweet from Sunday includes a photo of Rapone holding his military hat, which has “Communism will win” written underneath it.
“#VeteransForKaepernick,” the tweet said, referencing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
#VeteransForKaepernick pic.twitter.com/3jnCtawvHc
— ❄️Winter Soldier? (@punkproletarian) September 24, 2017
Kaepernick was the first player to kneel during the national anthem last year in protest of police brutality.
President Trump denounced NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem first at a rally in Alabama on Friday, and then on Twitter in multiple tweets, and called on NFL team owners to fire athletes who kneel.
