Rapone has also posted on Facebook a picture of himself holding up the Communist Manifesto, with his Army dress uniform hanging in the closet in the background and a number of posts showing opposition for Trump policies and administration officials and support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at least since 2015. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and was assigned as an assistant machine gunner in Khost Province. person will not be tolerated. Then American society and political culture influences you because we are constantly slapped with patriotism and respecting the troops. What does that even mean? Low around 35F. When international cadets graduate, they become officers in their respective country's armed forces. "On the other hand, many people reached out and showed me support. stream "We have one of the most technologically advanced militaries of all time and all we were doing is brutalizing and invading and terrorizing a population that had nothing to do with what the United States claimed was a threat.". Occupation: Organizer: A Critical History of Community Organizing in America, Breaking the Impasse: Electoral Politics, Mass Action, and the New Socialist Movement in the United States, Bigger Than Bernie: How We Can Win Democratic Socialism in Our Time. The two appear to have traveled together to the Taj Mahal in March 2014, according to pictures posted on his Facebook page. The unit issued its own statement that focused on uniform regulations. The Armys statement comes days after some media outlets reported that Rapone had received an other than honorable discharge from the Army. He wrote this letter to the acting secretary of defense who was Ryan McCarthy. 'Commie Cadet' sends vulgar message on his way out of the Army The military website SOFREP reiterated on Thursday that Mr. Rapone was an advocate for the long march through the institutions of power., This [philosophy] entails burrowing inside the institutions of society, including the military, and subverting them from within and ultimately setting the conditions for a communist revolution, wrote Jack Murphy, a former Army Special Operations veteran. 7hVccY[2a/;#mD.RA$1Q2J&`"(P&UX IdYFajS0 Odu&3 ofc,bc1RJfb{w5!s/d J/dSDi(hED1+@Iw/[6[*A|lx=` = _s[}ec88vvW='H(}edW+],stTCbe_X^AjQ@&=62ccl/vo`S!ds^"Mc!dfFfYZmg;Xyx@n#|1_P ~io Ux!ZZ{g+vN=;+t~:!Q]xIBUp^f+m`3T-(X'3wpdE]2 ^ n@]fn`7|E Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academy's "Long Gray Line.". It wasnt nearly to that level before the 9/11 era and thats part of why Ispeak out. And youve heard from other veterans and servicemembers? He was nominated out of high school by then-U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire in 2010. This time Rapone's father himself publicly weighed in on his son's gross comments and anti-American sentiment, according to the Daily Caller. Its a program for Indigenous liberation, life, and landan affirmation that colonialism and capitalism must be overturned for this planet to be habitable for human and other-than-human relatives to live dignified lives. At the end of this Convention, the GNDCC will be tasked with initiating a more direct working relationship between DSA and The Red Nation. He explained that he took the offending selfies at his May 2016 West Point graduation ceremony and kept them to himself until last September, when he tweeted them in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was taking heat for kneeling for the national anthem to raise awareness of racism. Now through Monday, sign up to become a Sustainer for just $5 a month and you'll receive your choice of one of three booksas well as an ongoing subscriptions (10 issues a year) to the print magazine. endobj We were just going in their homes and threatening their villages and were creating nothing but chaos anddestruction. Former Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Rapones long history of extremist tweets, which include calling Mattis an evil, vile f****, is shocking, disappointing and abhorrent. Threats of harming another No matter what you did in these imperialist conflicts, theres arole you can play in ending them and try to help emancipate and liberate people. Even the army chaplain would give us these kinds of speeches. He was an idealistic teenager from the rural Rust Belt town of New Castle, Pennsylvania (literally the . When the U.S. invaded Iraq, there was an anti-war movement, but when Obama ran as anti-war candidate, his election took the wind out of the sails. Greg Rinckey, an attorney specializing in military law, said its rare for an officer out of West Point to receive an other-than-honorable discharge. Spenser then enlisted in the Army and deployed to Afghanistan after which point he again applied to West Point. I have not been in touch with him in the years since the appointment, and I was shocked and extremely disappointed in the recent reports of his indefensible actions., The behavior of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone is symbolic of a larger problem in our society the epidemic of incivility in our public discourse, Altmire continued. "At the time, he was an outstanding, well-rounded student who . West Point released a statement after Rapone posted the photos, saying his actions "in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Hoseins bio on the West Point website lists Rapone as one of two cadets he last advised at West Point. The second lieutenant was given an "other than honorable" discharge June 18 after an Army investigation determined that he "went online to promote a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking officers" and thereby had engaged in "conduct unbecoming an officer." Get the whole story: Subscribe to In These Times magazine. pic.twitter.com/BIPzfEHmoP, Rory Fanning (@RTFanning) June 5, 2018. At the time, the Army confirmed that he had previously been an enlisted soldier and a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, with one Afghanistan deployment, but that he had been removed for standards.. For sure, Pat was abig influence on me. In response, the Army has opened an investigation intoRapone for his social media comments. Movies. Back in 2018, images of Spenser Rapone at his West Point graduation went viral. Chance of precip 90%.. It Takes a Lifetime to Build Your Personal Brand and an - LinkedIn The saga of the commie West Point graduate took a rather strange twist yesterday when the officer who achieved a degree of fame for his scorching sworn statement about then-Cadet Spenser, with an 's,' Rapone's epic insubordination and disrespect, Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Robert Heffington released a letter calling into question what is actually being instilled in young men and women . In another, he raises his fist and flips his cap to reveal the message: Communism will win.. Richard L. Rapone explained that Spenser tried to join West Point straight out of high school but was not accepted. He was an honors student, an athlete, a model citizen who volunteered in the community, recalled Altmire, a Democrat. We were bullies in one of the poorest countries on Earth, Rapone said. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. About 37 percent of the class of 2023 were minorities, equivalent to 443 people, according to the military academy. While I strongly support the rights of American citizens to express their opinions, the actions of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone are abhorrent and appear to be in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in addition to being inconsistent with the values of the United States Military Academy. SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Parents Allowed to Collect Sperm From Son Killed Skiing, 'Commie Cadet' Spenser Rapone Discharged From U.S. Army, West Point Marries First Active-Duty, Same-Sex Couple, Trump Ramps up Attacks on DeSantis: 'Dropping Like a Rock', Russian Strikes on Pavlohrad Aim to Hamper Ukraine's Counteroffensive, Greg Abbott Criticized for Response to Texas Shooting: 'A New Low', Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse, Conservative Influencers Struggle With Countering Biden's Messaging. He ultimately resigned his commission, and was separated from the Army in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable discharge., Spenser Rapones bio on Socialism 2018 (Socialism 2018 Website), Fanning wrote that their conversation will be called Resisting Within the Ranks.. Ill probably be doing some learning and listening to some activists who have been doing this longer than Ihave to find my place inthis. Rapones Twitter account, where he tweets as @punkproletarian, was previously set to protected while the investigation ran its course. Have a tip or story idea? Yeah. "We were bullies in one of the poorest countries on Earth," Rapone said. In the middle of all of this, these right-wing sites were saying stuff about me and Iwas under investigation, so Icouldnt say anything because theyd use that as ammunition. Law&Crimebroke the story of the West Point Communist on September 25, 2017 after speaking with Rapone and confirming his identity, intentions and political ideology. We have one of the most technologically advanced militaries of all time and all we were doing is brutalizing and invading and terrorizing a population that had nothing to do with what the United States claimed was a threat.. <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> WATERTOWN, N.Y. The images Spenser Rapone posted on Twitter from his West Point graduation were intentionally shocking: In one, the cadet opens his dress uniform to expose a T-shirt with a blood-red image of socialist icon Che Guevara. The incoming class of 2023 also includes cadets from an array of backgrounds. Rapone, a former enlisted Ranger who had completed the US Military Academy Prep School and graduated from West Point, was made famous by his own social media posts showing him regaling communism and wearing a Che .
Aluminum Rub Rail For Trailers, Articles S