Photos surfaced Wednesday on social media showing Philadelphia police officer Ian Hans Lichtermann displaying his Nazi tattoo while working the #BlackResistanceMarch during the Democratic National Convention in July. After the photos were posted, local activists discovered that the officer had previously been exposed as a member of a neo-Nazi organization who had quit the force, only to resurface in uniform once again at the anti-police brutality rally.
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In the photos that led to the discovery, the police officer had a large tattoo of an eagle and the familiar Nazi symbol, with German-style text reading “Fatherland” on his left forearm.
The photo showed the officer, identified as Lichtermann based on his name patch, tattooed with an assault rifle and a U.S. flag on his right forearm accompanied by the text “For God and Country”—the motto of the American Legion, a U.S. veterans' organization that openly supported fascism prior to the Second World War.
The photos, taken during the DNC, were shared by Evan P. Mathews and dated July 28, 2016. In the accompanying captions, the Philadelphia police officer is identified as Ian Hans Lichtermann.
The post also noted that among the tattoos, an Iron Cross was visible. The Iron Cross was an award that Hitler received during his service to the German Empire in the First World War that was also given to Nazi soldiers during World War II.
"The imagery on display in the tweet is disturbing," said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement Thursday. "In this environment—in which open, honest dialogue between citizens and police is paramount—we need to be building trust, not offering messages or displaying images that destroy trust."
The police department said it will investigate the photo and added it "does not condone anything that can be interpreted as offensive, hateful or discriminatory in any form," but the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, John McNesby, said it's "Not a big deal."
"I see people with panthers on their arm. Doesn't mean they are Black Panthers. People with crosses on arms doesn't mean they dislike any other religion," he said.
The march where the photos were taken was held in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and was meant to counter the oppression of Black people and other people of color by police forces and the state. The action was organized by community groups including the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice and the Workers World Party.
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The post explained that Lichtermann was part of a detail of around 100 police officers who blocked intersections in Philadelphia during the protest march.
After the photos were circulated online, a local antifascist blog noted that a 2010 hack of neo-Nazi websites exposed Lichtermann as a member of Blood and Honour, a network of neofascist white supremacist organizations founded by Ian Stuart, frontman for U.K. skinhead band Skrewdriver.
In social media posts, the Philadelphia peace officer made no secret of his dislike for Solicalsts (sic) | Photo: Flickr / Panzerhund0311
According to Philly Antifa, Lichtermann – an ex-marine – left the Philly police at some point following the exposure of his fascist activity, although it is unkown whether there was a connection between the exposure and his departure. Lichtermann then worked as a privately-contracted mercenary in the Middle East before returning to the force and resurfacing at the DNC protest.
The blog also posted damning photos depicting the Philadelphia officer's fondness for Third Reich militaria. In the photos, Lichtermann can be seen role-playing, alongside fellow hobbyists, in Waffen-SS uniforms. The photos, along with various hard-right memes, were posted to his Flickr page under his account name – Panzerhund0311 (a German portmanteau that translates to "Tank-dog").
Ian Hans Lichtermann (left) with 2 fellow Nazi reeanactment-hobbyist comrades. | Photo: Philly Antifa
Lichtermann (far left) and his fellow WWII enthusiasts reenact a Third Reich "beer ceremony" | Photo: Philly Antifa
The discovery has led to outrage online, with many Philadelphia residents questioning Lichtermann's employment with the Philly PD while noting the poor track record of police-community relations and the brutal treatment meted out toward the city's neighborhoods of color.
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The discovery comes months after Lorne Ahrens, one of 5 Dallas police officers slain by lone gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, was also discovered to have been an aficionado of fascist and neo-Nazi iconography and tattoos. The late officer, a former member of the notorious Los Angeles Sheriff's Department gang the Lynwood Vikings, was also a fan of the types of right-wing memes posted to Lichterman's social media accounts.
A leader of the White Lives Matter Group recently wrote that she wished that “Hitler were alive and well today.” The group was classified as a hate group by the Southern Law Poverty Center, a hate-group monitoring organization.