The official hired this month to oversee U.S. Special Operations Command’s office of diversity and inclusion compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in a photo posted to Facebook last year.
U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which directs counterterrorism and unconventional warfare operations for the military, announced Thursday that Richard Torres-Estrada took over on March 1 as chief of the Diversity & Inclusion unit.
The Pentagon recently formed the unit as part of its push for more diversity in its ranks and chain of command.
USSOCOM welcomes our new Chief of Diversity & Inclusion, Mr. Richard Torres-Estrada. We look forward to his contribution in enhancing the capabilities and effectiveness of #SOF through diversity of talent, helping us recruit the best of the best. #QuietProfessionals pic.twitter.com/Z6aJnz91mx
— USSOCOM (@USSOCOM) March 25, 2021
Torres-Estrada’s politically-charged social media posts began circulating online soon after SOCOM announced his hiring.
On June 2, 2020, Torres-Estrada posted a side-by-side photo on Facebook of Trump and Hitler, both holding Bibles. The photo of Trump was taken a day earlier outside of St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., which was vandalized during protests over the death of George Floyd.
The Hitler photo had been doctored to include the Bible.
Ahi les dejo esto y me retiro lentamente (para seguir trabajando desde la casa)…
Posted by Richard Torres-Estrada on Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Screenshot of June 2, 2020, Facebook post from Richard Torres-Estrada
Fox News host Tucker Carlson pointed to Torres-Estrada’s Facebook posts on his show on Friday.
“The point is, they’re the same,” Carlson said of the Trump-Hitler photos. “So, this is the guy who now oversees hiring for the SEALs.”
Carlson asserted that Torres-Estrada’s hiring is one of several recent examples of the Defense Department going “woke,” the term used to describe hyper-awareness about social justice issues.
“The Pentagon is now the Yale faculty lounge, but with cruise missiles. That should concern you,” Carlson said.
Torres-Estrada’s social media accounts show he has held diversity positions at several government agencies, most recently as a equal employment opportunity officer for the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. (RELATED: The Military’s Top Directive For March 17: With Every Decision You Make, Consider Its Effect On LGBTQ People)
USSOCOM describes its mission as developing and employing “fully capable Special Operations Forces to conduct global special operations and activities as part of the Joint Force to support persistent, networked and distributed Combatant Command operations and campaigns against state and non-state actors to protect and advance U.S. policies and objectives.”
It directs counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, reconnaissance and unconventional warfare operations.
WATCH:
A spokesman for USSOCOM said Sunday that the command has opened an investigation into the posts.
“We are aware of the situation, and the command has initiated an investigation,” Ken McGraw, a spokesman for USSOCOM, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Torres-Estrada did not respond to a request for comment sent through Facebook.
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