The U.S. military is investigating 11 servicemen for links to the extremist group Identity Evropa, which was involved in planning white nationalist and pro-Confederacy rallies in Charlottesville, Va.
The group’s members were outed last month by a large dump of messages from the platform Discord, published by the left-wing media collective Unicorn Riot. The Pentagon confirmed the 11 are under review, according to a Huffington Post report.
Identity Evropa’s recently disabled website said the group does not support violence, but a chant created by group founder Nathan Damigo — “You will not replace us!” — was an infamous refrain during a torch march through the University of Virginia in 2017 that opposed removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The pro-Lee rallies concluded with a protester plowing a car into counter-demonstrators, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
The people reportedly under investigation by the military include a Marine Corps lance corporal who allegedly posted a photo of Adolf Hitler fastening a flowing cape, along with the words “REMOVE K–E,” using a slur for Jews.
An Air Force master sergeant, an Army specialist, and a member of the Minnesota National Guard also are under investigation.
