A black sailor who claimed to be the target of racial slurs written on his bed actually staged the entire incident against himself, the Navy announced Friday.
Marquie Little first posted the pictures of the racial graffiti to Facebook on Nov. 15, stating, “I proudly serve the Navy and this is what I’m receiving in return,” but it turns out that Little himself drew the racial slurs, Navy Times reports.
Even though the Navy has exposed the incident as fake, the service nevertheless held training to emphasize that racism is not acceptable.
Navy Cmdr. Dave Hecht, who is a spokesman for Naval Air Force Atlantic, stated Friday that Little’s account was shot through with inconsistencies.
“A NCIS-supported command investigation following claims of racially-motivated vandalism aboard the (carrier) has determined that the alleged victim staged the incident himself,” Hecht told Navy Times.
“The United States Navy does not tolerate racial discrimination of any form and the well-being of our Sailors is our top priority,” Hecht added.
According to Hecht, the sailor, who serves aboard the carrier George H.W. Bush, was not being charged with a crime. Instead, the sailor received “administrative actions” and more training and counseling. He will continue with his regular duties.
In response to the Navy’s statement, Little told Navy Times it made no sense to claim he committed the act against himself, since he has “nothing to gain from doing such an incident but … everything to lose.”
The fake racist incident follows on the heels of a similar event at the Air Force Academy. In that case, racist messages were written outside the dorm rooms of five black cadet candidates in late September. An investigation revealed that one of the targeted individuals wrote the messages. But before the investigation was finished, Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria declared that any racists at the academy needed to “get out.”
After news broke that the incident was fake, Silveria accepted an award from the Anti-Defamation League for his handling of the situation and maintained that his original condemnatory speech was still entirely appropriate.
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