Communism was arguably America’s greatest enemy during the second half of the 20th Century. Now a West Point graduate is under investigation after tweeting pro-communist messages while in uniform.
2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, 25, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2016 after being kicked out of an Army Ranger special operations unit as an enlisted soldier. Rapone enrolled at West Point in 2012 after he was “released for standards” or “RFSed” from A Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In the 6 months he served with the Rangers, Rapone developed a reputation for “lack of discipline, carelessness, and disrespect for authority figures” reports four sources with USAWTFM.
“He could perform to standards but he had discipline problems,” said a former member of his platoon. “He was careless, with little things and sometimes big things, he almost took 6 guys out while mishandling the Gus.” The term “Gus” refers to the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle.
Rapone made headlines again after tweeting pro-communist propoganda in support of Colin Kaepernick’s NFL protest under the Twitter handle “Commie Bebop.”
One Tweet from September 24, 2017 shows Rapone in uniform holding a hat with the words “Communism Will Win” written inside. He included the hashtag #VeteransForKaepernick. The photograph was taken in 2016 after Rapone’s graduation ceremony.
The following day Rapone shared another photo of himself opening his uniform Jacket to reveal a shirt bearing the face of Argentine Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla fighter Che Guevara. He wrote, “In case there was any lingering doubt, hasta la victoria siempre,” which translates to “ever onward to victory.”
Rapone regularly tweets about the military complaining that it “reifies capitalism/imperialism with a brutally hierarchical rank structure” and its soldiers “lust for war and conflict. They fetishize violence.”
The tweets went viral this week prompting a response from West Point. On September 26, 2017 the Academy released the following statement on their website,
The U.S. Military Academy strives to develop leaders who internalize the academy’s motto of Duty, Honor, Country, and who live the Army values.
Second Lieutenant Rapone’s actions in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army.”
Multiple veterans organizations have condemned Rapone’s act of political speech as a serving officer in uniform, an act that is illegal under DOD Directive 1344.10. Army officials say 2nd Lt. Rapone is under investigation for his tweets.