Commie Cadet

Submission 14,586

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About

Commie Cadet, also known as West Point Commie, are nicknames given to former United States Second Lieutenant Spenser Rapone after photographs circulated online in which he is shown holding his officer's cap with the words "communism will win" and opening his cadet uniform to reveal a Che Guevara T-shirt.

Origin

On September 24th and September 25th, 2017, Rapone tweeted photographs of himself at his May 2016 United States Military Academy graduation from the handle @punkproletarian^[1]^[2] (shown below).

Spread

On September 25th, 2017, the photos of Rapone were posted to 4chan's /pol/ board (shown below).^[4]^[5]

On September 27th, the Youngstown, Ohio local news station WFMJ^[3] reported that Army officials were investigating Rapone's social media posts and included a statement from Rapone's father, who disavowed his son's political views.

Resignation From Army

On June 19th, 2018, The Guardian reported that Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division accepted Rapone's resignation after he was reprimanded for "conduct unbecoming an officer." Additionally, the article reported that Rapone had been investigated by the Army, who "found he went online to advocate for a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking officers and US officials." Additionally, the article included a statement by Rapone:

“I consider myself a revolutionary socialist. I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement.”