Private First Class Anthony Schroader, a reservist with the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in West Palm Beach, Florida, was recently demoted to private, Task & Purpose reported Tuesday. Private is the lowest military rank, while private first class is one step up.
The Marine Corps Force Reserve began looking into allegations against Schroader a few months ago after Max Uriarte, an American comics artist who satirizes US Marine Corps life in his work, alerted them of the photo on April 26.
"Because these are internal administrative actions, I am unable to disclose specific details," Maj. Roger Hollenbeck, a Marine Corps Forces Reserve spokesperson, is quoted as saying by Military.com. He did confirm, however, that “appropriate administrative action was taken,” although Schroader remains a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.
The identities of the other Marines in the image are unknown, Hollenbeck told Task & Purpose in June.
The US Marine Corps announced in June that Lance Cpl. Mason E. Mead, an infantry assault Marine with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was kicked out of the Corps for white supremacist social media posts. In one of the photos posted on his Twitter account, a Marine is pictured arranging TNT blocks into the shape of a swastika, although it is unclear if the Marine in the photo is Mead himself.