U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees the military’s counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, has reassigned the chief of its diversity and inclusion office over a Facebook post in which he compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
A spokesman for the command said on Tuesday that Richard Torres-Estrada had been “assigned to other duties pending the results of the investigation.”
“The Commander has directed an investigation to look into the facts surrounding Mr. Torres-Estrada’s selection,” Ken McGraw, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) spokesman, told Fox News.
McGraw told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Saturday that USSOCOM was investigating Facebook posts from Torres-Estrada that came to light after his hiring was announced last week.
In one post on June 2, 2020, Torres-Estrada published side-by-side photos of both Trump and Hitler holding Bibles. The photo of Trump was taken a day earlier outside of St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C. following protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd.
The photo of Hitler was doctored and flagged by Facebook as false information.
Screenshot of June 2, 2020, Facebook post from Richard Torres-Estrada
USSOCOM announced last Thursday that Torres-Estrada was hired as chief of the command’s new diversity and inclusion unit. (RELATED: Defense Department Hires ‘Diversity And Inclusion’ Official Who Compared Trump To Hitler)
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
Fox News host Tucker Carlson discussed Torres-Estrada’s posts during a segment on his show on Friday.
Carlson blasted the Pentagon for creating the position held by Torres-Estrada, saying that his hiring is one of several recent examples of the Defense Department going “woke.”
“The Pentagon is now the Yale faculty lounge, but with cruise missiles. That should concern you,” Carlson said.
USSOCOM did not respond to a request for additional comment on Tuesday.
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