The Air Force Academy announced that a racial slur targeting African-American cadets at its preparatory school there was a hoax by one of the cadets who complained about the racist message, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
In September, five black cadets were targeted with a racial slur and the words "go home" on erasable note boards outside their room, the newspaper said. That sparked an investigation into the incident by the academy police and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
"We can confirm that one of the cadet candidates who was allegedly targeted by racist remarks written outside of their dorm room was actually responsible for the act," academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said in a statement, per the newspaper. "The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation."
Herritage told CNN that the cadet "received administrative punishment" and is no longer at the preparatory school. Several sources told the Gazette that the unnamed cadet had faced an inquiry at the school for other misconduct.
The four other students that were the target of the slurs are still at the prep school, which is on the same campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the Air Force Academy, CNN said.
The September, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria forcefully denounced racism and intolerance in a speech that went viral on social media, CNN noted. Video of the speech has been viewed 5.3 million times on the academy's Facebook page.
"That kind of behavior has no place at the prep school, it has no place at USAFA, and it has no place in the United States Air Force," Silveria said in the speech. "You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being."
In a statement to the Gazette Tuesday, Silveria said that fighting racism can never be "over-emphasized."
"Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed," Silveria said in the statement. "You can never over-emphasize the need for a culture of dignity and respect - and those who don't understand those concepts, aren't welcome here."
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