US Marines investigated for violent gun threat to LGBT venues: ‘Coming to a gay bar near you!’
Two actively serving US Marines are being investigated for posting a photo with an assault rifle with a threat against LGBT venues, just days after 49 people were killed in as mass shooting at a gay bar in Orlando, Florida.
The photo of a Marine, in uniform, with an assault rifle, appeared to have been taken from the social media app Snapchat.
It was captioned with the words “Coming to a gay bar near you!”.
The photo was posted to the ‘Camp MENdleton resale’ Facebook group, which is a closed group for male Marines with over 25,000 members.
According to reports, the photo was posted with the words “Too soon?”.
First Lt. Thomas Gray, a spokesman for I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), told Marine Corps Times that both the Marine in the photo and the one who posted it to the Facebook group were being investigated.
He said: “We cannot discuss details of an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you the command is taking this incident seriously.”
The I MEF also released a statement saying officials would take “appropriate action” to the post.
“The Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion,” a statement read.
“…This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis.”
The post comes after Omar Mateen, a New-York born American citizen, took to the Pulse club in Orlando on Sunday morning armed with assault rifles and explosives.
Earlier this week, a threat was posted to Craigslist in San Diego, praising the shooting in Orlando, and reading: “San Diego, you’re next”.
49 people were killed and 53 injured on Sunday in the shocking terrorist hate crime attack, which saw a gunman open fire inside The Pulse gay bar in Orlando, Florida.
ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attack, which was perpetrated by US citizen Omar Mateen. The majority of the victims were Latino.
In a statement, President Obama mourned the victims of the homophobic hate crime attack and called for greater restrictions on arms sales.
In response, Republican nominee Donald Trump said Obama should resign for failing to rally against Islam in his comments.
The attack has been condemned by American Muslim leaders, who addressed ISIS in saying: “You do not speak for us.”
But millions of people around the world have showed solidarity with the victims of the shooting and the community in Orlando,
A GoFundMe page for victims of the Orlando gay club mass shooting on Sunday, was the fastest ever page to reach $1 million, and now stands at more than $5 million.
