A Virginia Capitol police sergeant has lost his job following an investigation into social media posts that referenced white supremacist groups, The Washington Post reported.
Robert Stamm’s firing comes just two months after the department placed him on administrative leave back in February. Virginia Capitol Police took the final step Wednesday in terminating Stamm, 36, after learning of a blog post by the Antifacists of Seven Hills, titled “VA Capitol Police Shows Affinity With White Nationalist Groups.”
White supremacists rallying. (Photo by John Flavell / AP)
The post, which has since been deleted, featured several photos of Stamm with tattoos, flags, banners and other symbols the group said are affiliated with white supremacy.
In a statement, Capitol Police Chief Anthony S. Pike told The Washington Post that the department’s review was “conducted with the dual aims of being not only fair but thorough.”
“The [Capitol Police] traces its heritage back more than four centuries, and we take employee conduct very seriously,” Pike added. “We will continue to commit ourselves to providing law enforcement services to our community with the utmost professionalism.”
Stamm, who was promoted to sergeant last year, was among the officers assigned to monitor protests outside Gov. Ralph Northam‘s office in February amid backlash over a resurfaced photo from Northam’s medical school yearbook page showing someone in blackface and another in KKK robes. Pictures from the protests showed Stamm with a large bandage covering a tattoo on his neck, and a department spokesman said he wasn’t “alone” in wearing something to hide tattoos.
In their blog post, the Antifacists of Seven Hills said it was the large bandage covering Stamm’s neck that put him on their radar.
Stamm didn’t return a request for comment from The Post.
