A New Mexico sheriff appears to be flashing a white supremacy sign in a family photo posted to his wife's Instagram account.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan flashed the OK sign, a symbol that has recently been added to The Anti-Defamation League's hate symbol database. Lujan's wife, Julie Casados, has now deleted the post and set her account to private, the Santa New Mexican reported.
A photo of Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan posted to Instagram on Sunday shows him flashing what is considered by some people to be a symbol of white supremacy. https://t.co/bPnQbgmRva
— Santa Fe New Mexican (@thenewmexican) December 26, 2019
Lujan said the symbol didn't have anything to do with white supremacy.
"He texted me this morning saying that as a Hispanic Democrat he is not a racist and that he was playing a game like slug bug," tweeted Amanda Martinez, a Santa Fe New Mexican reporter. "Also I tried to get in touch with Lujan since Tuesday afternoon. He only chose to respond after the article was published."
The Root picked up a story I wrote for today's @thenewmexican about RAC Sheriff James Lujan. The Instagram is now private. He texted me this morning saying that as a Hispanic Democrat he is not a racist and that he was playing a game like slug bug. https://t.co/aOdw0LPVnj
— Amanda Martinez (@anxmartinez) December 27, 2019
The website, 4chan, started the symbol as a “hoax campaign” in 2017 to troll liberals, the Anti-Defamation League reported. The league said it's “being used in some circles as a sincere expression of white supremacy.”
"4channers created fake e-mail and Twitter accounts and bombarded civil rights organizations, journalists, and others with messages furthering the “OK” hoax," the organization stated.
Two service academy students also faced backlash earlier this month when they appeared to flash the OK sign before the Army-Navy football game during a live ESPN broadcast. In another similar incident earlier this year, a Chicago Cubs fan was banned from the stadium for life when he flashed the symbol. A member of the Coast Guard also used a similar hand sign last year in the background of a live broadcast, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Lujan has faced other controversial incidents in recent years. In 2015, former Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Marvin Armijo filed a lawsuit against the sheriff, stating he used racial slurs and made inappropriate comments about darker skin colors. The lawsuit added that Lujan made sexual comments, stating Armijo performed sexual acts for his former boss to keep his job.
According to Newsweek, the sheriff faced another lawsuit in October when a man said Lujan pulled him over for having a Mexican flag on his truck on the Fourth of July.
