Acting Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Andre Meehan confirmed some disturbing news in a statement on Friday: A hand-drawn swastika was discovered on the third floor of a DHS building in Washington, D.C. It has been removed. Still, the question remains: Who drew it? Even more disturbingly, that’s still unknown.
CNN broke the news after the station received an internal email from deputy undersecretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis Brian Murphy.
"Unfortunately, today a hand drawn swastika was located on the third floor," Murphy wrote in the email which was reportedly sent to staffers in the building. "First, I want to repeat what (Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis David Glawe), the Secretary, and many others in the Department have said in the past: there is no room in the workplace for such symbols of hate. And there is no room in the workplace for those who ascribe (sic) to such a thing. I have communicated with USIA Glawe, who is currently in Israel, and he is disgusted by what has happened."
As reported by CNN, Murphy said he was addressing the incident by having the swastika removed and checking to see if anyone was a witness to it being drawn. CNN also reported that in perhaps the most memorable reply-all fiasco of 2019, an employee sent a response to Murphy’s email saying, “As if leadership really cares. I guess I should not be surprised."
Murphy then replied to the entire reply-all staff by writing, "I do care."
As a quick reminder, Homeland Security is a Cabinet department. Among other things, Homeland oversees Customs and Border Protection, TSA, FEMA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and, of course, Immigration and Customs Enforcement … aka, ICE.
Here’s Meehan’s statement:
"This display of hate and cowardice does not represent the dedicated hardworking men and women of the Department of Homeland Security," Meehan said in the statement above. "It has no place in an organization that works tirelessly to protect the American people and combat hate in all its forms. The situation was immediately referred to the Office of the Inspector General and is currently being [investigated] to ensure that swift and corrective action is taken."
A Nazi symbol has been found graffitied inside Homeland Security headquarters—and Donald Trump hasn’t said a word, of course.