The Coast Guard has reassigned a member after he flashed a controversial hand sign some have associated with white power during a television appearance.
The video shows a man briefly making an "OK" sign in the background of an MSNBC appearance featuring Capt. John Reed giving an update on the Coast Guard's Florence storm response efforts, according to NBC News.
The symbol has been called a "trolling gesture" by the Anti Defamation League. The "OK" sign's association with the white power movement started out as a 2017 hoax campaign aimed at drumming up false outrage.
The organization says that the symbol has been used by some known white supremacists, its use has increased since 2017 and its meaning is continually evolving.
The Coast Guard described the video featuring the symbol as "offensive" in a tweet announcing that the member shown in the video has been reassigned.
"His actions do not reflect those of the United States Coast Guard," the tweet says.
Some on social media have called for the Coast Guardsman to be fired for his actions.
In early September, the ADL modified its guidance on the symbol to account for its growing popularity. The organization's current article on the gesture says that it is used by people across the right and far-right, often to trigger a reaction or "trolling the libs."
Some who use the symbol believe that many politically liberal people are quick to label conservatives as white supremacists; some use the common symbol to "exploit" that perceived tendency, the organization says.
The "OK" gesture is commonly used for non-political and non-hateful purposes, as well as by some white supremacists, according to the ADL.
"No one should assume anything about the use of such a gesture unless there are other unmistakable white supremacist signifiers in that context as well," tweeted Mark Pitcavage an ADL senior research fellow on Sept. 4.
The symbol made national headlines earlier this month after a republican operative made the sign in the background during a Brett Kavanaugh hearing. Liberal twitter users accused her of promoting a "white power" sign, the Washington Post reported.
A Friday tweet from the Coast Guard announces that a member has been reassigned he flashed a controversial symbol during a television appearance.