Carlos Barria/Reuters
A group of junior-high students in California have been reprimanded for allegedly forming a human swastika during lunch and sharing images of the anti-Semitic gesture in a 112-page group chat, the Ventura County Star reports. Matilija Junior High School Principal Javier Ramirez and Assistant Principal Carol Paquette addressed the matter in a letter to parents dated Dec. 14. “It brings us great pain to share with you, reprehensible student actions that have taken place over the course of the last few weeks,” the letter read. “The actions, comments, and pictures consisted of racist, sexually inappropriate and threatening commentary, including a comment by a student to brings knives to school,” the letter read, adding that photos in the chat also showed evidence of nine students forming the human swastika. Twelve students were reportedly involved in the group chat, which began in mid-November and continued right up until the school’s winter break in December. The school conducted a two-day investigation into the matter, after which school officials said police assured “that there is no active threat toward students on campus.” The school vowed to assign “appropriate consequences to those involved” but it wasn’t immediately clear what punishment the students would face.