Coast Guard reverses course on policy to call swastikas and nooses 'potentially divisive'

WASHINGTON(AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just hours after it was publicly revealed that it made plans to describe them as “potentially divisive" — a term that prompted outcry from lawmakers and advocates.

“Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,” the latest Coast Guard policy, released late Thursday, declared before adding that this category included “a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.”

“This is not an updated policy but a new policy to combat any misinformation and double down that the U.S. Coast Guard forbids these symbols,” an accompanying Coast Guard press release said.

The late-night change came on the same day that medi