A marine is under investigation for posting a profanity-laced video of himself using racial slurs against Chinese people and threatening to shoot them after President Donald Trump blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic, the Marine Corps said on Thursday.
The soldier, identified as Marine Private First Class Jarrett Morford, can be seen in the video donning his uniform and talking about China's involvement in the coronavirus pandemic before revealing what he would do if he came across a Chinese national, referring to Trump's recent comments on China.
'Ch**k-Headed Motherfu*cker'
On Wednesday, Trump hit out at China over the coronavirus, which he has previously referred to as the "Chinese virus," and threatened Beijing with consequences, as previously reported.
"It wasn't your fault that this happened, it was China's fault," Trump said in a video from the White House. "China's going to pay a big price what they've done to this country."
"As the honorable Trump said today on Twitter, it was China's fault. China is going to pay for what they have done to this country and the world," Morford says in the video that is being widely circulated on social media. "I don't give a f*ck. A ch**k-headed motherf****r comes up to me when I'm in the fleet, say 5-5-6, bi*ch. That's all I gotta say. Say 5-5-f*cking-6."
The term "5-5-6" used by Morford in the video is a reference to the 5.56mm ammunition rounds used by Marines in firearms like the M16 rifle. Watch the video clip below:
Marine Under Investigation
Morford is now under investigation over the viral video. Capt. Joseph Butterfield, a Marine Corps spokesman, said Morford's superior officers are taking "appropriate action.
Graduating boot camp in August, 20-year-old Morford is from Windsor, Colorado, and is currently in training for a communications-related job Twentynine Palms, California.
"There is no place for racism in the Marine Corps. Those who can't value the contributions of others, regardless of background, are destructive to our culture and do not represent our core values," Butterfield said.
