ENEMIES FROM WITHIN

Pentagon’s Extremist Handbook Tells Military to Be on Lookout for Pepe the Frog

A guide released by the Pentagon teaches its members to look out for extremist group iconology, in an effort to identify potential infiltrators.

Politico got it hands on a 16-page guide shared internally by the Pentagon in an effort to identify potential extremist infiltrators in the military. The guide tells employees to look out for extremist group iconology, like Proud Boys insignia and Pepe the Frog, the cartoon frog misappropriated on racist online message boards. “There are members of the [Department of Defense] who belong to extremist groups or actively participate in efforts to further extremist ideologies,” the document reads. “Be aware of symbols of far right, far left, Islamist or single issue ideologies.”

The document includes guidelines for differentiating religion and violent extremism. “Christian extremism is often conflated with white supremacy for a joint ideology focused on racial and religious purity which they believe to be God's intention,” one paragraph reads. Several military members were arrested for participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and four Marines were recently booted for extremist behavior—but the true number of potential infiltrators is unknown because many extremist groups liaise secretly.