The U.S. Army is looking into a handout distributed to personnel on an Alabama Army base that alleged President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" was a form of white supremacy, Fox News reports.
The handout was given to soldiers and personnel at Redstone Arsenal, inviting them to attend a seminar dubbed "Operation Inclusion."
The handout featured a pyramid that listed behaviors identified as "overt white supremacy (socially unacceptable)" such as racial slurs and hate crimes. Beneath that are listed things classed as "covert" or socially acceptable forms of "white supremacy."
The list of items includes things like celebrating Columbus Day and "calling the police on Black people." One of the items listed was Trump's "Make America Great Again" 2016 campaign slogan.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., raised concerns about the handout and called for an investigation into the incident.
It was sent from an official government email address and created by the U.S. Army Equality and Inclusion Agency. Brooks said it could have been sent to thousands of personnel.
The Army said the graphic was sent out "in error."
"On July 6, 2020, a Project Inclusion listening tour handout included two unapproved pages that were sent out in error and immediately recalled. The slides – copied from a non-government website – included a word cloud with phrases that were intended to spark conversation; however, the document was predecisional and inappropriate for the discussion," a statement from the Army said. "The unapproved pages were in no way used as part of the ‘Your Voice Matters' listening tour sessions."
The Army website describes Project Inclusion as an Army initiative to help "improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across the force and build cohesive teams."
Brooks wrote to U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy demanding an investigation into the handout.
"Including overtly political materials in the invitation for such an event is completely inappropriate and, in this instance and in my view, illegal," Brooks wrote to McCarthy. "Further, the inclusion of such materials serves only to ostracize segments of the workforce and create racial division, rather than minimize it."
"What occurred is absolutely unacceptable, and I expect Army leadership to fully investigate whether this incident violated the Hatch Act or any Department of Defense regulation and to appropriately hold those responsible accountable to the fullest extent possible," he said.
The Army said it is conducting an investigation.
"As soon Department of the Army leaders were made aware of these products the Army initiated a 15-6 investigation to determine how this happened," the Army said in a statement. "The Army does not condone the use of phrases that indicate political support. The Army is and will continue to remain an apolitical organization."
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