The Air Force has launched an investigation into an airman who last week posted a series of videos of himself, in uniform, calling gay people “sodomites,” “pedophiles,” “roaches” and “vermin scum,” among other homophobic slurs, reports the Air Force Times.
“The sodomites, the homos, they do all their filthy acts in the dark of night where no one can see them,” said the unidentified airman.
“When you get these perverts on their own, they flee like cockroaches, like the roaches they are, the vermin scum, the pedophiles that they are,” he added.
The airman reportedly shared the videos to YouTube under the username “Baptist Dave 1611” last week before taking them down a few days later.
In another video, the airman voices his support for Grayson Fritts, a Knox County sheriff’s detective and controversial Baptist preacher from Knoxville, Tennessee who was caught earlier this month advocating in a sermon for police to kill gay people, arguing that the Bible calls for such punishments.
The airman went on to claim that most Christians agree with Fritts but are just too afraid to say anything for fear of the “homo mafia.”
In yet another video, the uniformed airman attacked parents who bring their children to “drag queen story hour” events at public libraries, accusing them of child abuse.
“If you’re making your son, for example, dress up as a woman and go dance at a sodomite bar, that’s hip, that’s cool, that’s trendy,” the airman said. “But if you just believe the Bible, and you take your kid to church, that’s child abuse, right?”
Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek confirmed to the news outlet that the situation is being reviewed by the airman’s command team.
“The Air Force considers diversity to be one of our greatest assets; therefore, every airman is expected to treat each other with dignity and respect,” said Stefanek. “We do not tolerate behavior that is contrary to those values.”
The Modern Military Association of America, a non-profit that advocates for LGBTQ service members and veterans, called the videos “alarming” and “dangerous” and demanded that the Air Force hold him fully accountable for his actions.
“This alarming call for the execution of LGBTQ people by a service member in uniform no doubt adds fuel to the fire of those who wish us harm,” said MMAA Executive Director Andy Blevins.
“What this airman did is blatantly illegal under the [Uniform Code of Military Justice], and he has disrespected his uniform, the United States Air Force, and the military as a whole.”
Blevins continued, “The dangerous message this hate speech sends to those he serves with, including service members who may be LGBTQ, is completely unacceptable and could have severe consequences.”
