The Army suspended the soldier and is investigating the matter.
The Army has issued a statement condemning a reported soldier making a Holocaust joke in a since-deleted TikTok video. Paul Szoldra, editor-in-chief of military website Task and Purpose, posted the video to Twitter on August 31. Szoldra identifies the person in the video as 2nd Lt. Nathan Freihofer. Freihofer, who has 2.9 million followers on TikTok, says in the video, “Reason one million why I’ll never be verified: dark jokes!” He then tells the joke: “What’s a Jewish person’s favorite Pokemon character? Ash.” Ash is a reference to Pokemon protagonist Ash Ketchum and also an apparent Holocaust reference. Freihofer concludes the video, brushing off anyone taking offense at the joke. “If you get offended, get the f— out because it’s a joke,” Freihofer said. “Don’t be a p—-.” 2nd Lt. Nathan Freihofer, a popular TikTok influencer with nearly 3 mil followers, posted a joke about the holocaust. “If you get offended, get the fuck out because it’s a joke,” he says. May be contrary to Army’s “Think, Type, Post” social media policy, but hey what do I know pic.twitter.com/TpkLr1xhPt Paul Szoldra (@PaulSzoldra) August 31,2020 The XVIII Airborne Corps announced in a tweet that it is reviewing the matter. “We are investigating reports of a Soldier assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps allegedly making vile remarks on a social media video,” the tweet read. “The statement made in the video is completely inconsistent with our values. We will review all facts and take appropriate action.” We are investigating reports of a Soldier assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps allegedly making vile remarks on a social media video.
