West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has accepted a recommendation from the Department of Military Affairs, who is calling for the termination of cadets who participated in a Nazi salute during a class graduation photo last month.

According to WJLA, several cadets from a West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation training class participated in the one-handed salute.

After looking into the incident, the governor released a statement Monday and said he has approved the recommendation from Cabinet Secretary for The State Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety Jeff Sandy.

The photo included 37 members of the training class who gave the salute, state officials said.

According to the West Virginia Metro News, one student started the salute as a joke during training and the instructor embraced the gesture saying, “it’s because I’m a hard-ass like Hitler.”

Instructor Kassie Byrd and two other staff members have been fired, while four academy instructors have been recommended for suspension without pay because they knew about the photo and didn't report it, the Metro News reported.

“Messages that reflect hate, intimidation, and discriminatory beliefs have no place in our workplace, and are incompatible with our mission to protect both our incarcerated population and the citizens of West Virginia,” state Corrections Commissioner Betsy Jividen said in a statement.

Sandy said some of the cadets said they posed unwillingly, following directions from Byrd and fearing that they would not graduate if they disobeyed.

“Nonetheless, their conduct, without question, has also resulted in the far-reaching and harmful perceptions that are the antithesis of the values we strive to attain,” Sandy stated.

The report added that the cadets who were uncomfortable could have reported the incident to the director of the Academy, but they chose not to.

Justice said he "condemns the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible terms.”

“I also said that this act needed to result in real consequences – terminations and dismissals," the governor said. "This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of State government.”

According to the report, the cadets identified the student who allegedly started the salute and said "Look at me. I am Black and I am doing it.”

The cadets reportedly said Byrd took the photo several times during the graduation ceremony because some of the students wouldn't participate in the gesture. Ten cadets said they did not make the gesture until Byrd told them to, while seven held up a closed fist to comply with Byrd’s direction without making the gesture, the report stated.

The students who made the closed fists were also recommended for termination, Sandy said.

Byrd was reportedly asked about the photo after it was forwarded to the Corrections secretarial staff.

“Look there is nothing wrong with it, we have people of all colors and backgrounds in the picture and every one of them are participating," the instructor reportedly said.

According to West Virginia Public Broadcasting Byrd said she was unaware of the “historical or racial implications of the gesture” and reported it was “simply a greeting.”

Jim Justice

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