Southern Poverty Law Center
Monday’s inaugural events took an unexpected turn when Elon Musk, the influential CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made an apparent Nazi salute
Elon Musk’s Inaugural Roman Salute Sparks Outrage, Far-Right Praise
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Monday’s inaugural events took an unexpected turn when Elon Musk, the influential CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made an apparent Nazi salute, or “Roman salute,” during inaugural events for President Donald Trump. The move ignited a firestorm of controversy.
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party infamously adopted the Roman salute, characterized by an extended arm and open hand, as a symbol of allegiance and power. Its use is deeply offensive to many, as it evokes memories of the atrocities committed during World War II and the Holocaust. The gesture is banned in several countries, including Germany, where it is considered a criminal offense.
The Hard Right Responds to Jan. 6 Pardons
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Online, most fans of President Trump were effusive in their praise for his decision to issue pardons and commute sentences for 1,600 defendants in cases linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Others grappled with whether the pardons implied guilt and what should be the fate of those, like Proud Boys leaders Enrique Tarrio and Jeremy Bertino, who had cooperated with law enforcement and were now free.
Not all Proud Boys were happy with the pardons, however. During their trials, the revelation that former chairman of the group Enrique Tarrio and North Carolina-based leader Jeremy Bertino had both cooperated with federal law enforcement led to schisms between different Proud Boys chapters. Now, disgruntled members of the group greeted the news about Tarrio’s release with taunts suggesting the Afro-Cuban former leader should be immediately deported, while another, using an anti-gay slur, called Bertino a “f****t snitch.”
Trump Order Seeks to End Birthright Citizenship
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On day one of his second term, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of draconian executive orders on immigration, including seeking to end birthright citizenship, a longtime objective of anti-immigrant entities and white nationalists.
Trump underscored his campaign commitment to a xenophobic agenda and delighted anti-immigrant extremists with his round of executive orders that came after Monday’s inauguration.
One of Trump’s orders attempts to end the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to people born on U.S. soil, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and has been settled law for more than a century. Under the banner of “protecting the meaning and value of American citizenship,” the order requires federal officials to deny citizenship to children born in the United States even when the birth parents’ “presence in the United States was lawful but temporary.”
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