West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Monday he has approved the recommendation to fire all 34 correctional officer cadets who participated in a Nazi salute in a class photo.
The West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety launched an investigation this October into the photo, which shows almost all trainees of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Basic Training Class 18 giving what appears to be a Nazi salute. The rest are posing with a clenched fist in the air. The photo is captioned “Hail Byrd,” a reference to an instructor named Karrie Byrd, who told the investigator that she encouraged the photo to be taken as a sign of respect.
