The nation's top military leaders are tweeting against racism and intolerance in the wake of the white supremacist rally and car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Several members of the joint chiefs of staff spoke publicly about the need to condemn extremism and embrace diversity after President Trump's tumultuous press conference on Tuesday, in which he defended the white supremacists' actions as being just one side of the violence.
First was Navy Adm. John Richardson, who tweeted on Saturday night that the events in Charlottesville were "unacceptable & mustnt be tolerated"
Events in Charlottesville unacceptable & musnt be tolerated @USNavy forever stands against intolerance & hatred...https://t.co/tg0cETibaq
Richardson, who was the only member of the joint chiefs of staff to specifically mention Charlottesville as of Wednesday, linked to a Facebook post with an attached Washington Post article about the car attack that killed a counterprotester.
On Tuesday, Gen. Robert Neller, commander of the United States Marine Corps, also tweeted that the Marines have "no place for racial hatred or extremism."
No place for racial hatred or extremism in @USMC. Our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment frame the way Marines live and act.
Neller tweeted at 12:51 p.m., before Trump held his controversial press conference.
On Wednesday morning, Gen. Mark Milley, chief of the US Army, chimed in, noting that the army "doesn't tolerate racism, extremism or hatred in our ranks."
The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775.
Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, added his voice on Wednesday, although he did not explicitly mention racism or extremism.
I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we're always stronger together-it's who we are as #Airmen
"Stronger together" is familiar though. 👀
Then Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, joined in, pinning this tweet to his profile:
I stand with my fellow Joint Chiefs in condemning racism, extremism & hatred. Our diversity is our strength. #NationalGuard
“This is something General Lengyel clearly wanted to say. It just so happened that the other joint chiefs did that as well,” Jack Harrison, a spokesperson for the National Guard, told BuzzFeed News.
But he said the military leaders had not decided to all tweet about it one after the other.
"I don't believe it was a coordinated plan," Harrison said.